How to Train your Dragon 3
by AgesOfLONELY
Summary: Meet Leila, a Mehraeia, Half Dragon and Half Human, transforming into either form she wished at any time she liked. But the Gods took away her power, leaving her as an immortal human, and hunted by an evil villain. Can our favourite Vikings and dragons help her? Or will she fall for Hiccup instead? HICCUP/OC. No Hicstrid! Rated M for matureness later on in the story!
1. Chapter 1

**_Hi guys, before you question - yes Stoick is alive but it has been revealed that Stoick died and Hiccup became chief during the battle with Drago Bludvist. I only just found that out (at 21:00 on 12/6/14). In this fanfic, Stoick remains alive, it's only a story and I refuse to have Hiccup's father out of it. Sincerely, Chloe._**

* * *

Everyone seems to think that they know the true story about Vikings and Dragons, and how they became enemies. Well, let me tell you something... That's a lie! I know for a fact that they will never know the truth as to why Vikings and Dragons were enemies for many years. The only way you could know what really happened was if you were told by the source and that still draws breath. Yes, the source was a living and breathing creature but not any ordinary animal or person. I was a mix of two completely different species and I could shift into either form as I pleased. But I was an outsider, the only one in existence with this blessing as well as a curse. I wanted to belong somewhere, somewhere I could have a home. Unfortunately, I could never have that chance.

The Vikings wanted me to be human and among their kind, but the Dragons were of the opposite thought and wanted me to join them instead. I couldn't decide whether or not to be Human or Dragon because I was part of both bloodlines... I didn't know what to choose. And that made it only worse...

Over time, they friendship grew to hatred. For ten years, they prepared for battle and assured themselves that they would claim me and win this war, but no... I got in the way and tried to stop it because I didn't want them to fight over me. I wanted to be united with them, together.

But it's because of me that they went to war... And because of that, the God of both Humans and Dragons decided to intervine by interfering... and stopping me instead...

He made the decision to stop me from transforming into a Dragon.

Even though I would no longer be able to transform, I would never age because the Dragon Immortality now slithered in my blood and the God proved that through this he would never change that for me. I'd have to watch my loved ones die over an eternity. Even though I'd live for a long time and see new worlds, it still meant that I'd be defenceless, weak and unable to reach the skies...

But I swear down that I will once again have the gift to fly, and correct my mistake.

My name is Leila, and I am Half-Dragon.


	2. Chapter 2

"Hey bud, wanna go for a spin after breakfast?" asked Hiccup as he put on his metal leg. True, after six years of using one he should be used to it, but the effort into putting it on as well as designing clothing to the right measurements took a bit of his time before he realised he even had any. That's the thing with a back-up leg, you have to make your own adjustments. Meanwhile, Toothless purred happily at the plan and got down from hanging on the wooden frame above his rock of a bed. Hiccup took that as a 'what do you think?' type of response instead of a yes or a no. "Okay bud, let's get goin'!"

Immediately after he finished getting dressed and all geared up, and Toothless was all ready and saddled for their after-breakfast flight, they both sprinted down the stairs to find his parents fixing up breakfast. "Morning, Hiccup." said Stoick.

"Good morning, sweetheart." said Valka.

"Morning, Mom! Morning, Dad!"

"How did you sleep?" asked Valka.

"Better than usual." said Hiccup, but truth be told he actually felt slightly strange. You see, he broke up with Astrid a few months back; but he didn't feel as guilty about it as he thought he would.

"That's good." said Valka with a motherly smile.

"Well, what did you expect after an exhausting day of training the babes yesterday? Apples to grow on their tails?" said Stoick. "And knowing what you have discovered recently..." he stroked his ginger beard, "It actually could be possible."

"Aw, Dad! Don't tempt me!" he groaned with amusement. "We just got over the big ones; little ones are the harder ones to train being only babies after all, especially since they have the increased version of dragon-stubbornness." and Hiccup moaned with fake-annoyance, the parents laughed it off and Toothless made a gurgling noise to signal his amusement. Hiccup eagerly ate his cooked chicken and fish. However, at some point he bit more than he could swallow and nearly choked so Stoick slapped him on the back and it resulted with Hiccup spitting out a fish's eyeball that decided to ping and bounce all over the wooden walls, back and forth and occasionally on the odd pieces of metal standing out of the corners. The three Vikings kept their eye on the ball the whole time, heads bobbing in very similar directions with unison until Toothless decided to open his mouth and swallow the eye without complaint. "Good catch bud, just don't gag it up! We don't want another round of 'catch the ball'." said Hiccup, but Toothless just shrugged it off and whacked his tail over Hiccup's head. "Hey!" he complained but Toothless pulled an innocent grin.

"Don't blame the dragon." said Valka sarcastically. "Not like he did anything."

And they finished their breakfast before the flying duo took off through the front door with a very noticeable eagerness that not many young adults had in previous generations. "See ya guys! Come on, bud!" And they made their way into the skies as the wind left behind an enormous echo.

Both the parents just laughed as they watched. "What d'you think the chances are that he's going to settle down when he's Chief? Have little tots running about?"

Valka looked at him with wide eyes, "Stoic, it's a bit early for that!"

He shrugged and leant backwards slightly, "What?! No harm in a simple question now, is there?" he laughed as she hit him across the arm. "I'm just saying... maybe sometime soon," he looked to the clouds with a tiny black dot could be seen, "Just maybe... He'll find the right lass to sweep off her feet."

* * *

"Okay, bud! Wanna try it now?" Toothless rolled his eyes with a bobbing of his head as if to say 'really?' and Hiccup laughed. "Come on, we've been rehearsing for a whole month now. Let's do this! Ready?" Toothless grunted to say 'yes'.

He released himself from the saddle and stood on the dragon's back as they hovered about a thousand feet in the air. Knees apart, arms spread and a keen look in his eye could have easily told anyone that he was determined to succeed in his new piece of work with Toothless. With a gradually increasing smile, Hiccup's eyes squinted a little and then shut completely as he jumped forward with a backward flip and decided to dive through the clouded air, gliding with Toothless under him for support. They stayed like that for a few moments as they increased their speed when they changed their angle and decided to head towards the arch that connected two distant cliffs. "Okay, bud! Hold it..." Toothless squinted his eyes with determination too, much like Hiccup since they could think very much the same thing when it came to the communication they shared in flight. "Hold it..."

They continued to glide towards the cliff, but one millisecond off timing would have them crashing with broken bones! Three... Two... One...

"NOW!"

Hiccup immediately curled into a ball and Toothless boosted him up to make him run across the arch that connected the cliffs. The moment he reached the edge, he dove forward at an upward angle, and he spun so fast that what he was doing was practically a blur and he back-flipped before he was hanging onto the end of his dragon's tail. Toothless knew this was his part of the trick and he changed his course to fly upwards. Not too long after, he swung his tale to bring Hiccup to soar upwards through the sky for a few seconds with an excited yelp before he flipped again 360 degrees backwards and was once again saddled to Toothless.

"YES! WE DIT IT!" Hiccup screamed. He patted Toothless' side in pride. "Well done, bud! Great job!"

They ended their flight after many moments of hovering above the island of Berk as well as the ocean. But little did they know of the treat they were going to gain when they reached the cove they shared along with the day they met.


	3. Chapter 3

_**Leila's POV:**_

I stared on to my surroundings, unnoticed at all other than by the distant birds and the sunlight scattered between the leaves up in the trees. It was peaceful, it was quiet, and it was beautiful. It was perfect... There was water and fish I could hunt and cook and there was wood nearby, sunlight, and shelter for when it rained. It was a perfect place to be. It was official, all I need to do is hunt when there is no fish in the lake and I'm all set, plus I could do with some new clothes. With my basket, I unpacked my equipment; my bow and arrows, my twin daggers, and my sword. It's not easy being just human. Heck, I could have done this VERY easily as a dragon! If only he didn't get involved then I would have been fine!

The moment everything was unpacked, I put on my mask, a black mask to match my black uniform that had metal padding over my shoulders and fingerless leather gloves on my hands, thick boots to protect my feet from the cold. You wouldn't have been able to tell that I was a girl, but you would be able to tell that I was a warrior now. I trained myself in the defences but I still had yet to perform the final test... battle with the unexpected.

* * *

_**No One's POV:**_

She armed her daggers over the hooks on the back of her armour along with the bow and arrows as well as her sword attached to her left hips. She truly knew how to present herself as a traveller and a fighter, unknown to many others and only seen when wanted to be.

But when an echoed roar sounded up high in the distance, steel-blue eyes scanned the area with a cautious grip on her sword; knees apart as a shadow flew right past her. She moved her belongings to be hidden by grey rocks, and only her short swords and her longer sword were in grip and ready to be in use. Leila held her sword and walked backwards to the wall when a boy and a Dragon entered the cove. Her eyes widened inside her mask. She saw that the Dragon was black scaled and green-flamed eyes with black pupils the darkest of all, even more so than his skin.

"Night Fury." she whispered, and she cursed herself mentally when the Dragon looked in her direction with squinted eyes. He growled softly, his stance changed as he bent his front paws and his hind legs stood mighty and tall, tail whipped around his rider. She didn't know why they were here, but she planned to do a surprise attack, and with that idea came a cocky smirk hidden underneath her black mask.

But would he notice her as she snuck up behind him?

* * *

Hiccup felt Toothless growl beside him. He was quick to see that Toothless' tail curled around the base of his feet. "What is it, bud?" asked Hiccup. When Toothless nodded behind them, he saw nothing but a black figure with the bluest eyes he ever saw. The making of the armour was incredible and he wanted to know how he did that. The stranger seemed to be only a few inches smaller than him but had a strange build. _'Who is this guy?' _thought Hiccup. _'Why is he here?'_

With the thought in mind, he attacked first with a strong swing of his sword.

The stranger parried the slow attack easily, but the power behind it didn't shake throughout his body. He could block many of those without having it affect their fighting abilities. Hiccup attacked him again. He swung fiercely at him, and he dodged an attack, spinning around to get behind him and kicking him in the back to knock him onto the ground. His whole body was unaffected from the impact of parrying his attacks. Hiccup quickly got up and charged at him. He dodged again and Hiccup lost his balance, having expected his blow to connect. The stranger laughed deeply and immediately began attacking Hiccup, but he had a solid defence. This back and forth between the two continued for a long time. The stranger always dodged the attacks. But Hiccup was often on the defensive, the strikes always blocked but Hiccup was still on his toes.

He swung his sword so quickly it seemed he struck before a sound could have been made at all. The stranger fought on with his own, but Hiccup's range was nowhere as long as his, and Hiccup realised quickly that he needed to disarm him. Seeing as how he was making sure to stay a good distance but in a very close range with precaution and thought, the stranger knew he had to try to disarm him. The stranger evaded Hiccup's swings and managed to kick his hand, making him lose grip on his sword. The stranger attacked fiercely now that he had the advantage of having a weapon. Hiccup sidestepped his attack and grabbed his left arm, twisting it around his back hard and forcing him to release the sword in that hand. The stranger cried out and fell to his knees. Hiccup kicked at his back with his metal leg, pushing his facedown onto the ground. The stranger rolled away from him and got up quickly, protecting his face with his fists.

They were now both unarmed.

Hiccup swung at him, but he dodged the attack. He swung again, and the stranger blocked the attack, and swung himself, which Hiccup blocked. And so they fought for a while, some of the blows connecting. They grappled and tumbled and punched until the stranger managed to kick Hiccup's leg from under him, causing him to fall to the ground on his back with a loud thud. The stranger reached for his short sword, but Hiccup grabbed his legs and pulled him away from the sword. They continued to fight on the ground for a while, a few of the punches connecting to the stranger's masked face, which hurt terribly. Hiccup managed to use his size to pin him down and strike, which cancelled out the stranger's agility advantage. The stranger shifted his weight and managed to get on top of Hiccup.

The stranger released him and ran to retrieve his short swords. He got up at well, retrieved his sword, and the two began fighting with their weapons. Already weakened from the aching from the blows Hiccup gave him, the stranger was a bit slower than usual. They fought, attacking and defending, for a long time. Hiccup was becoming increasingly exhausted, the lightweight swords beginning to feel like blocks of stone in his hands. But he knew he needed to win this battle.

He was determined.

With a final burst of energy, he spun around quickly and tried to slice at the stranger's back, mimicking a fatal blow similar to the one he had used in previous battles. However he blocked it, swung him over to have him land on his stomach and the stranger's sword to the back of his neck.

"You won't win."

Hiccup turned his head to look at his cut shirt and then looked at the stranger's eyes, which were full of blue flames. He wiped the thin trickle of blood coming from the side of his mouth where the stranger had punched him. He stood up to his full height and looked at him.

He did not reply but instead took out his short swords. The stranger quickly took out his short swords and prepared to defend himself. Hiccup attacked swiftly and hard, not that the stranger was surprised.

They fought, they performed a dance, but this time there was a desperation that never existed before. The stranger was physically tired, but his will was resolute. It was his resolve that added power into his strikes when it felt like his body would faint. Hiccup was relentless in his attacks, but so was the stranger. They attacked each other quicker and quicker in a blurry of arms and metal. Suddenly, they both stopped. Hiccup's sword was at the stranger's neck, but the stranger's sword was at Hiccup's.

It was a draw.


	4. Chapter 4

"What are you doing here?" asked Hiccup, but the stranger thought the same thing.

"Me? What are YOU doing here?" said the stranger. "I came here to set up camp, do you have a problem with that, kid?!"

Hiccup never realised it until just then but the voice was extremely high for a male... a bit 'feminine', somehow. Could this stranger actually be a girl? But then, they called him a kid. "Wait, wait a second. What? This is the cove where me and Toothless hang out. And don't call me a kid, I'm twenty one, understand me?" said Hiccup.

"Oh yeah, sure kid. but you're not a man until you know how hard life is."

"Oh, and I suppose you know. I've had to defeat Drago Bludvist last year!" Hiccup scream-talked.

The stranger scoffed, "Drago? Why not just kill him and save the bloodshed? Yes, I heard about it all, and to be honest, it was all a waste."

Hiccup's eyes narrowed and he started clenching his fists. "And just why would it be a waste?" he asked, but he got no reply. Instead what he saw was the swift turning of the stranger in a defensive mode as Toothless tried to run towards him. "Toothless, wait!" Toothless didn't listen, instead he pounced on top of the stranger and growled fiercely.

* * *

_**Leila's POV:**_

The voice I now heard was gentle and male, but it had a knife's edge to it when the anger had plagued it. The Night Fury stared it me with his thin black slits in his evergreen eyes. _'Ever touch Hiccup again, and I will personally kill you! Understand?' _said the Night fury whose name I believe was 'Toothless'.

I laughed. _'Don't worry, because if you try I'll only knock you on your ass.' _What made me laugh even harder was that he figured I could speak Dragonese. _'Yes, I do speak your language.'_

_'But, how? You're a plain human! Hiccup doesn't even know this language, so how can you?'_

_'I wouldn't necessarily say that I'm a plain human, even if I do look like one.'_

_'Wait, don't you know what you are?' _he snorted in confusion. _'That's weird.'_

I nodded. _'Of course, I know. I'm just not completely human. In fact, I'm only half.' _He raised his scaly brow at me, and I smirked.

_'What are you talking about?'_

_'I'm not completely human because I'm a breed of two species.'_

_'And what do they so happen to be?'_ he asked, mocking me.

I smirked, _'__Human...__ and Dragon.' _In very deep thought, he stared into my blue eyes before they widened. Immediately, he stood back on all fours at a decent space range and he bowed before me. _'I take it you figured out who I am?'_

_'You are the Mehraeia, Princess Leila, the one of the many stories! Four hundred years ago, you were stopped by the God of Humans and Dragons alike. I thought your story was made up just for entertainment... your highness!'_

I shook my head. _'No, Toothless. My story is true, but don't think so highly of me. I may be half Dragon but the God has taken all Dragon abilities I have other than my immortality. My life span is all that remains.'_

_'But, your highness-'_

I waved my hand,_ 'Don't call me that, please. I'm no royal; I am but an immortal hybrid. I have no greater purpose than to linger and hide before I fade into death from old youth and ancient myth.'_

_'Either way, my Princess.' _said Toothless, _'You have the legendary soul.'_

* * *

_**Hiccup's POV:**_

There was something I didn't quite understand here. One second, Toothless is all growly and mean and the next thing I know, he is standing in front of the stranger at a good distance and... bowing? What? "Toothless. What is up with you?" I asked, stepping closer to my best bud and then he is suddenly nudging me. "Whoa, Toothless! What are you trying to say, bud?" He then made a motion for me to get on my knee in... respect? for the Stranger that tried to attack me?! Nu- uh! But Toothless made me bow anyway. Reluctantly, I bowed; curse Toothless' stubbornness! He gave a satisfied purr and slowly went to the stranger with his head bowed, as if in apology. For what?

And the next thing I know. I hear a voice, but not the same voice as before. It was... more sincere, and gentle.

"Don't worry, Toothless. All is forgiven." said the stranger, as he scratched him under his chin, at his good spot. Toothless purred happily and nudged his head further into the stranger's arms. "Don't worry, you're a good boy!"

My eyes widened as I registered the scene before me. Wait, is the stranger 'adoring' my DRAGON?! What the-? Nope! no, that is NOT happening! That's my best friend! this doesn't make sense!

"HEY!" I shouted, and both of them looked at me. "What in Thor's name is going on?! I demand to know! What the-? Do-do you grasp how insane this... thing is?" I flailed my arms around gesturing to the two of them. "I mean, what...? What is going on here?!"

"Don't worry. You'll figure it out." said the stranger. And he removed his mask. "I mean, after all you seem pretty smart. And from what I know now, it seems you are a terrific Dragon tamer. And with a Night Fury, too?! Haven't seen a bond like that in a long time."

Wait, did I say 'he'? Clearly I need to change my crazy judgy people habit, because... I mean... the most GORGEOUS girl in the world was standing in front of me! Yeah, I know me and Astrid had a thing before but it was more of a best-friend type of relationship.

But that didn't stop me from staring at this angel in front of me.

She had luminously curly, chestnut brown hair that was left to blow in the wind, not restricted in any way and it all ended halfway to her not-too-curvy hips. Her skin was a light tan, similar to Mom's but a bit paler. And her nose was a cute little button type with only a slight curve to show the femininity and her cheeks were rosy to match her smile. Her eyes, somehow, seemed even bluer than I thought could have been possible. How? I didn't know. All I knew right now was that I was staring at the most beautiful girl I have ever met.


	5. Chapter 5

_**No One's POV:**_

"I'm sorry, what was your name again?" said Hiccup. He desperately wanted to know her name, no, NEEDED to know. He had to know the name that matched the beauty in front of him. He then realised that he didn't introduce himself. "Sorry," he stuck out his hand as he said, "I-I-I-I'm H-Hiccup."

"Nice to meet you, Hiccup." said Leila. Then she thought about what to call herself, she didn't want her true identity to be known, because she knew that there were people who wanted to hunt her down. She knew she could be wanted anywhere at anytime and not for a good reason on her behalf. She decided that a fake name was the safest thing to do. "I'm Sheena." And they shook hands.

"Sheena?" questioned Hiccup before he smiled. "Nice name."

She laughed in relief, "Thanks. Yours too."

"Where are you from, Sheena?" asked Hiccup as he took a seat on the rock closest to the lake, he fixed his prosthetic leg as one of the screws came a bit loose and Toothless supported him by sitting beside him. "Thanks bud." he said when Toothless supported his leg.

Leila couldn't help her curiosity about his fake leg as she answered him. "Well, I don't really come from anywhere. I kind of grew up all over the place. I travel." And when Hiccup heard the world 'travel' he knew his interest was further peaked.

"Where do you travel?"

Leila shrugged, "Everywhere. I've been to places as cold as ever down south, hot places in the East and a bit of a mixture of both in the west. but here? Never been here before. It's a new adventure anyway, might as well make the most of it." and she smiled. Hiccup couldn't help but smile back. "Do you travel anywhere?"

Hiccup shrugged, "Yeah, mostly by flying. How do you travel?"

"I walk, I'm not really a dragon rider. I'd rather be the one to fly for myself."

Hiccup's eyes squinted a little in confusion. "How are you not a dragon rider but you fly? That doesn't make sense."

Leila realised her error, and hurriedly corrected it. "Oh, no. I meant that even though I enjoy flying, in a way I wish I was a dragon whenever I wanted to fly, in a way it's like being yourself even though you look like something else. Know what I mean?"

Hiccup was silent, with a blank stare for a moment, and Leila was worried that he didn't believe her, obviously she is a stranger! But instead, he was like "Oh, yeah! Yeah, I know what you mean. but I prefer to have Toothless." He patted Toothless on his side near his wing, "Right bud? We're a team!" Toothless snorted in agreement.

Leila couldn't help but admire the pair in front of her, because for the first time in decades, centuries even, she has seen an actual bond between Humans and Dragons.

* * *

**_Leila's POV:_**

How is it that Hiccup and Toothless, a human and a dragon, have broken the enemy line of the war? How is it that these two have formed a friendship when battle still ensued over many seas? It couldn't be possible! It's NOT possible!

Correction: it's meant to be impossible.

What was it that made these two completely different species come together and create a shared bond? What brought them together?

Could this duo possibly be the key to my Other Half?


	6. Chapter 6

Together, Hiccup and _'Sheena' _decided to walk back to village. It was there that Leila would have to introduce herself as 'Sheena' in front of every villager, every Viking that lived in Berk. To be honest, she was a little scared, but she knew the familiarity of travelling and meeting new Chiefs and villages, and being either welcomed or abandoned, told never to return or to stay for only a limited time period. She knew how that felt... but this time, this involved a friendship between the Vikings and the Dragons. And that is what made her a bit scared, the fact that she would probably be given a Dragon to ride even when she didn't want to. She was more comfortable on the ground thank you. She tried riding a Dragon after her ability to transform was taken, but it didn't quite feel right. It seemed... restricted, insecure, and not like she was flying for herself but rather the Dragon. She wanted to fly for herself but she couldn't because she was stuck in the form of a Human and she couldn't change that. She just hoped that she would get through the day without feeling like she was stuck in one place, that's why she travelled a lot, to be free.

As for Hiccup, he was just fascinated with every little thing about her. Already from what he discovered, he noticed that Sheena was the type of person that would keep to herself in certain cases (which he entirely respected) but other than that, she was pretty much open like a window, very talkative and confident, ready to take on danger, and her armour is just too damn detailed to have been the work of a young girl like herself. "Hey, can I ask you something?" he asked. Sheena nodded. "How did you get your armour? I mean, who made it for you?"

"I actually made it myself. I used to work as a blacksmith. It's not that hard really, but people used to tell me that girls couldn't do metal work which is obviously a load of dung so I decided to prove them wrong. And, well, here I am. My armour and my weapons." She pulled out one of her twin daggers for him to hold.

The moment he took the dagger in hand, he admired the detail. "Whoa!" It was victorious. The wooden handle was curved which made it easier for the holder to wrap their hand around it with a strong grip, the blade was incredibly sharp and the surface was incredibly smooth, his reflection was in a perfect mirror. The design on the blade was delicate and graceful like a wave in the wind. How Sheena could have done something this detailed, he didn't know. "That's amazing." he said. "How long have you been a Blacksmith before you left?" he gently handed the dagger back to her.

"I have always been a Blacksmith. I kind of do metal-work an awful lot. If you want, sometime, I could teach you about how to make the weaponry fit for the owner rather than jut make weapons in general. To be a TRUE Blacksmith, you have to make your own adjustments for every single weapon, an extended arm fit for each individual, a weakness that could be a used as a strength no matter how advantageous the size of the opponent." With every word spoken, he listened eagerly like he was an apprentice with Gobber again. He never thought that such deep and powerful advice could be said by someone who was... um... at best estimate, two years younger than him. "Every weapon has its secrets beneath the design, beneath the purpose. You never know what the secret can be unless you exit the comfort zone and cross the border that leads to the revealing of a true warrior. It's the same for defensive weaponry too."

"Really?" She nodded. "How do you know all of that? How old are you?"

"I'm... seventeen." she said nervously. Leila stopped appearing older when she turned eighteen but people thought she looked a year younger than that so it sort of stuck for her. "I've been a Blacksmith for as long as I can remember."

"And you travelled?" She nodded. And that was it for Hiccup, he knew all he needed to know. "Whoa..." he whispered, "You're one special girl."

He now knew what he needed to know... to find the one other human that related to him.


	7. Chapter 7

Berk seemed like a very busy place to Leila, not like how Hiccup might have pictured it for her. It seemed more like some type of training academy rather than a village. Half of the Vikings there were riding their Dragons in some kind of racing league whereas the rest of them were helping each other move the carts or organise the sheep herding and shepherding. She laughed. Hiccup turned to her, "What's so funny?"

She stopped laughing and composed herself, "Nothing, it's just a nice place that's all."

Hiccup shrugged it off and carried walking with Sheena and Toothless to a certain house up the hill. "Well, here we are. My place." He smiled as he turned to her. "Would you like to come in?" Unsure of what to say, she remained quiet but Toothless gave her a rather encouraging nudge to the door. At the help of Toothless, she smiled and Hiccup returned it as he opened the door. "Mom! Dad! We're home!" Hiccup shouted as he unsaddled Toothless and placed the equipment to the side. "You there?"

"We're upstairs, son!" shouted Stoic in reply.

"What is it?" said Valka.

And Hiccup looked at Sheena with a secret smile. He didn't even bother to turn his gaze away from her to reply. "I brought a new friend!" Leila smiled at the thought of being his friend. It was nice to actually have one.

"Okay. Bring 'em up!"

Immediately, Hiccup grabbed Leila's and pulled her up the stairs with a smile on his face. There, Stoic and Valka were discussing about building back-up homes for the Dragons. Dens and things like that made to their own liking. It was there that they were interrupted when Hiccup came in with his new friend. Leila hid behind the door for a moment as it was respectful to wait until summoned to come into a certain room of a house. "Well, where's your new friend, Hiccup?" asked Stoic. "I'm delighted to meet him." he said as he clapped his hands and rubbed them together.

"Ah, but that's the thing, Dad... It's a not a 'him'. It's a 'her'."

In realisation, Valka stood up from her original position and stood by Stoic whose eyes widened a little. "A girl?" questioned Valka, and Hicucp nodded with uncertainty. With a slowly increasing smile, Valka laughed. "Where is she, then? I would love to meet her."

"Okay, guys... this is Sheena..." he motioned to inside the doorway in which they leant slightly to see a young, small figure standing in the corner by the stairs. "Come on in, Sheena. No one's gonna bite." Hesitantly, she slowly stepped inside the room. Valka thought she was meeting a girl that Hiccup bumped into in the village. Obviously not. Sheena didn't seem at all like she was from Berk, but more of something completely out of this world. The moment her eyes found the blue pair belonging to the said Sheena, Valka could have sworn that she has seen her before.

"Hi, I'm Sheena. It's nice to meet you."

But where from? Valka didn't know.


	8. Chapter 8

That evening, the Haddocks decided to invite Sheena to stay for dinner. It was only fitting that a friend of Hiccup's was treated like a guest in the Chief's home. They all sat at a cosy wooden table as Valka poured some stew into some wooden bowls while Hiccup handed out the cooked chicken and fish. "It smells delicious, ma'am." said Sheena.

"Ah, don't worry about formalities Sheena. it's Valka." she said with a sweet smile. "And thank you, but it's not actually my cooking. It's our son's."

Hiccup blushed, he didn't actually want Sheena to know that he was a bit like a housewife, instead he wanted her to know the tough him, the dragon rider! _'Thanks, mom!'_ he thought to himself. _'She's going to laugh at me now.' _He placed his head in his hands with embarrassment and just wanted to flush himself away from the sight of Sheena laughing at him, he wanted to greatly disappear. But no, he felt someone remove his hands from his face instead.

It was Sheena. "Don't worry, Hiccup. It's not a bad thing, I can't cook for two let alone myself." she said, and she smiled to demonstrate that she doesn't care. "To be honest, the fact that you cook is quite sweet, saves me time in catching a meal." and she let out a gentle laugh that made Hiccup just somehow admire her even further. "There's that smile." and he smiled even wider. "Honestly, don't worry about it. It doesn't bother me." And Hiccup could have sworn that his heart fluttered away from his body.

"Hiccup here," said Stoic as he slapped his son on the back, "is the finest dragon trainer in Berk. He's dealt with hundreds of dragons with just his bare hands. No weaponry."

"Dad!" whined Hiccup. "You're exaggerating."

Stoic shook his head. "Nope." and Sheena laughed gently. "So, Sheena. Do you train dragons?" asked Stoic.

Sheena's eyes widened a little at the question, but Leila wasn't sure on how to answer, she wanted to be honest but she didn't want to be thrown away like she never existed because she lied to someone first. She deeply wanted them to know but she lived in an everlasting fear... She decided not to. "Yes, I train dragons, but not like you have ever seen. You see... I lived among them before I knew I was human." Hiccup's eyes widened. "I know exactly how dragons think, act and symbolise their emotions. I even understand their language." Stoic's eyes widened. "In fact, I speak to them as I speak to you now, only in Dragonese." and Valka's eyes widened.

* * *

_**Valka's POV:**_

I couldn't believe this... Who was this child, why was she here? I had to know.

Sheena is quite the puzzle and yet I know so much to figure out who she is, her reasons. I already have a few pieces. Dragon trainer, human and dragon, symbolise, emotions, language... Dragonese. She is Dragonese, she has to be.

But there was only one other human who could have possibly been Dragonese, and she was the reason for the War... the Mehraeia.

Could she...? No...

She can't possibly be the Mehraeia.


	9. Chapter 9

That morning, Hiccup was not in the house. Leila was a bit curious as to where he and Toothless had gone off to, but she didn't want to go anywhere in the outfit she wore. Out of all things, she forgot to bring a change of clothing with her. Slowly and quietly as to assure herself that she wouldn't accidentally wake up someone unknowing of the hour it was this morning, Leila crept out of her bed that was set in Hiccup's room but on the other side of closest to the window. With very light steps, she went down the stairs to find Valka already fixing up breakfast, Salmon with berries. "Ah, good morning, Sheena. How was your sleep?"

Leila then remembered, she was still someone else. "Um, fine, thank you. How was yours?"

Valka shrugged, "Oh not too bad. Please, sit down, breakfast is almost done." With a smile, Leila sat down. But she desperately wanted to ask Valka about the clothes she was wearing. She knew she couldn't stay in them forever but for now they were fine unless she was puked on or something, she didn't know what to do. Valka noticed this, being a mother she could tell these things by instinct so it was out of the question for how she noticed. "What are you thinking about, Sheena?"

But before Leila could open her mouth, the front door barged open and two Viking girls rushed in. It was Astrid and Ruffnut. "Hey, Valka!" they both chorused.

"Hello, girls! Come in!" Valka replied. "Hiccup's not here, he's with Toothless."

"It's fine." said Astrid. "We just heard that Hiccup brought a new friend."

"Yeah, we want to see this guy! Where is he?"

"Actually!" interrupted Leila, who stood up from her seat at the wooden table. She shrugged with her arms spread out and a nervous smile. "Here I am." She held out her hand to Astrid. "Hi, I'm Sheena. It's nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too." said Ruffnut with a smile and they all exchanged handshakes. "So, how come we haven't met you before?"

Leila shrugged, "I don't know. I guess I just haven't really noticed Berk before recently. So, I thought I'd come here and see what's it's like." And again, Leila was building up another lie, brick by brick, adding to the collection she has already made that has helped her to survive for the last few hundred years. No matter how much lying she did, she always hated that she had to just for the advantage of living for another day, one step closer to finding her Other Half. "And, well, it's how I met Hiccup, and now I'm here."

"Awesome. And we're also told that you are a Blacksmith as well as a fighter. And that you designed your armour yourself. It looks crazy, man!" said Astrid, admiring her metal-work. "Doesn't it get a bit rough to sleep in though?"

"I was thinking about making myself a new outfit, actually." said Leila. "It does get rather difficult to move around in after a long journey and all."

Valka interrupted, "Why didn't you say so? We might find something for you!"

"Yeah! Come on!" Immediately, all three Viking ladies dragged her outside the house, but not before Valka left a note for either Hiccup or Stoic to find.

* * *

"Come on, bud." said Hiccup, he held a bunch of flowers in his hand. I bet you're wondering why he randomly has a bouquet of white and fully bloomed lilies in his hand. Yes, he was going to give them to Sheena, as a welcoming gift and also as an apology for when he attacked her, even though she tried to surprise him first, oh well! Shrug it off, already! Anyway, it was originally Toothless' idea to get the flowers in the first place, or rather Hiccup's but Toothless took all credit. For which, Hiccup was thankful that he got pushed into it because, without Toothless he wouldn't even be at least half as confident to any girl at all. Speaking of which, Toothless was rather anxious for Hiccup to hurry and give the flowers to Sheena. Hiccup could only laugh and pet his Dragon. "Patience, Toothless. Let's just hope she likes them." He looked at the house and then back to Toothless with nerves slowly creeping through. He gulped, "Ready?" Toothless snorted in response and they both entered the house. "Mom! Sheena?! Are you guys here?"

There was no response. Just to be sure, he searched through every room in the house to find them, which was unfortunate for him because he couldn't find them at all. It was only when Toothless gave some snorts and growls that signalled for Hiccup to come over did Hiccup find a note on the table where they ate their meals.

_'Hiccup,_

_If you are wondering where we are. Astrid, Ruffnut and I have decided to take Sheena out for a bit of 'girly time'. We won't be back for a little while, plus Sheena might be in need of a new look so we will see you when we get back._

_Loving you dearly,_

_Mother.'_

But it didn't make Hiccup feel any better. instead, it made him feel even more unsure about whether or not he should give the flowers to Sheena. "Toothless, what am I gonna do?" he asked his Dragon. Toothless practically shrugged as he sat by his human. "I don't know either, bud. I don't know."


	10. Chapter 10

_**AU NOTE - Hey, just so you know, how Leila/Sheena is going to look will be in my profile picture. Hope you like her! - Chloe.**_

* * *

"Guys, this really isn't necessary." said Leila, trying not to break into a fit of laughter as she modelled herself in her new outfit. "You've done so much for me already. I could have just made my own clothing!"

"Oh, it's definitely necessary!" said Astrid, nodding in approval. "Besides, you look gorgeous!"

"Really?"

"Duh!" replied the girls all at the same time. And in fact, she looked INCREDIBLY gorgeous. Her chestnut hair was incredibly curly half way down and that was her only problem left.

"There's only one thing missing..." said Astrid. It took a few moments of silence as well as confusion from Leila's behalf, but Astrid smiled and clicked her fingers to signal that she had it figured out. "Hair and makeover!"

Leila's eyes opened wide. "What?!"

* * *

**_2 hours of Torture later on..._**

Hiccup anxiously paced back and forth while Toothless and Stoic just sighed and rolled their eyes. "They've been a while." said Hiccup with worry. "Shouldn't they be back by now?"

"Calm down, Hiccup!" said Stoic. "I'm sure the girls are just taking their time and having fun, that's all. They'll be back in their own time."

"How are you so sure, Dad?" Hiccup asked as he flailed his arms about in exasperation. He was, indeed, far too worried for someone who just made a new friend. He should be more concerned about being Chief or the Crops or the Dragons, but no, he was worried about Curfew! Toothless moaned like he was telling him to 'shut up, already'.

"I tell you son, you worry like a Sheep being chased by an egg."

"But eggs don't chase sheep. That's ridiculous!"

Stoic sighed, "Exactly my point! So, stop your worrying. They'll be back any minute now, okay?" And Hiccup, hesitantly, gave in with a smile.

"Okay." And, with coincidental timing, Valka, Ruffnut and Astrid came in. "Hi, Mom! Hey guys."

"Hey, Hiccup." was the reply from Astrid and Ruffnut, Valka just pecked his forehead and sat with Stoic.

"Wait, where's Sheena?" asked Hiccup. He noticed that she couldn't be seen. And the fact that he couldn't see her made the two blondes giggle between themselves. Hiccup's curiosity peaked. "Wait, what have you done to her?"

"Oh, we may have given her-" said Ruffnut.

"A bit of a makeover." finished Astrid. They both stood aside and out of the way of the door. The one person Hiccup hoped to be standing there looked at him, and his jaw dropped along with Toothless and Stoic.

Sheena wore a brown type of vest made of thick, brown leather with hooks to keep it covering her preciousness of womanhood. It had no sleeves and was rather more like a strap vest rather than a normal one for Viking women. It ended just above her belly button and it definitely framed her breasts to perfection. Her trousers were a murky brown colour that matched the bronze of the vest and framed her behind just as much as the vest framed her breasts. Her boots were actually that same ones she wore while in her armour, she wanted to keep those and refused to wear any other pair, the only difference was that some fluff was added on the rim that added halfway up her leg, ending just under the knee. Everything she was wearing made her skin stand out even further than it did with her armour. She still wore her fingerless gloves.

Her hair was even different. It was straight and angled to the left, it looked pretty much like the style Hiccup had, only it was longer and more chestnut rather than a chocolate shade of brown. Her eyes seemed even bluer somehow. How she came to look even more beautiful, Hiccup just had to find out.

"We now present to you," said Astrid. "Sheena Meyers, lady Viking."

Sheena just smiled and waved sheepishly, "Hi, Hiccup."

And the said Viking was, entirely, lost for words.


	11. Chapter 11

_**Leila's POV:**_

I didn't know why, but Hiccup just refused to stop staring at me with his mouth open. Is it really that bad? For the next two days, I've been keeping both my armour and my new outfit in carefully looked-after conditions so as not to ruin them (plus it keeps Astrid and Ruffnut off of my case when it comes to presentation). I managed to meet the rest of the gang though. Don't even get me started on their facial expressions. I'm just going to quote the first thing they ever said to me and what I think of them. That's including everyone I've already met.

Fishlegs: kind of shy but gets confident and very intelligent whenever anyone around him talks about something he likes or already knows about. He seems like a really nice friend and his Dragon Meatlug is very cute. Meatlug is awesome, I would definitely hang out with her if I could. _'Hi, it's nice to meet you Sheena. Is it true your armour was made with metal from Dragon scales?'_ DUH! No, it was made with metal, that's it. Yeah, he is very sensitive from what I've gathered and he can be talkative but I really don't mind that. It's nice to have someone to talk to about anything at all.

Snoutlout: far too flirty. _'Hi. How is it that a pretty girl such as yourself ended up here, on Berk?' _he asked me. He even winked at me, which is kind of strange. I guess he must be the type of guy who likes to show off and prove that he is the best at everything. His Dragon, Hookfang, sometimes gets a bit ticked off with his apparent 'attractiveness' when clearly all he could do is be himself and THEN a girl would actually not scoff at him for trying to gain her attention. But in general, Snoutlout seems nice without the flirty side.

Ruffnut and Tuffnut: like each other in appearance but have a tendency to squabble with each other. I guess that's the problem with being twins. And their dragon, don't even get me started on the heads. I guess it is kind of ironic how the twins end up on a Dragon with two heads. But the difference must match one of each I guess.

Stoic: definitely a Chief type but has the habit of pressure of trying to meet satisfactions and persuade his son to do things that might not be to Hiccup's liking. Very tough and definitely a Hooligan Viking by blood.

Valka: an awesome mom! In a way, she is pretty much like a Dragon. She has the soul and heart of a flyer and she is very sensitive and caring. She understands people like she understands herself. She is way too cool to let go.

Gobber: I kind of feel bad about his lack of limbs, but he is definitely sweet. He is an awesome Blacksmith and definitely knows how to handle himself. In a way, he seems a bit like one of them Uncles, you know. The type of Uncle that is a bit like an older brother but with a fatherly tension.

And Astrid, she is just plain awesome. The way she swings her axe as incredible. She has a spectacular aim and I wouldn't mind having her as a partner in a hunting spree. I'm sure she'd take down a bull bare handed! In a certain perspective, she could be classed as a sister who defends her family and is someone you can talk to about anything (especially when it comes to learning how to hit your target).

As for Hiccup, well, I'm not entirely sure what to say about him. He's like Valka, sensitive and understanding of Dragons, but he is like Stoic with his courage and decision making. Somehow, it's difficult to know precisely what type of person he can be known as. He has so many opinions of things and is not afraid to speak his mind and stand up for himself, and he definitely knows about Blacksmithing. I mean, look at his armour! He's got a charcoal pencil holder, a compass, a prosthetic leg and the symbol of a dragon!

But, me? Mine is just a plain metal armour with matching boots, gloves and a mask.

I don't know why, but Hiccup keeps staring at me.

Is it because, in a certain way, I am just like him?


	12. Chapter 12

Hiccup decided NOT to give her the flowers in the end.

"Oh, Toothless. What am I gonna do?!" asked Hiccup. He and Toothless just sat by the lake in their cove while eating the fish, Hiccup's obviously being cooked by the fire Toothless made for him after wood was collected on their trip. "I mean... Sheena is... Ugh... How do I put this, um... Sheena's, um..." he sighed, "Sheena's HOT!"

Toothless looked at him with an expression as if to say, _'Seriously? You just noticed?'_

Hiccup then began to pace back and forth, on the odd occasion throwing some pebbles into the lake and drawing some random pictures in the dirt with a stick. "I mean, seriously! She has got to be the most beautiful girl I have ever met. She is amazing! She's a Blacksmith, she gets along very easily with everyone, she has a gorgeous smile... She... She can definitely take care of herself. She has beautiful hair, an enchanting figure, and her skin, oh..." His thoughts had nothing but the image of her, how many freckles she had, how rosy her cheeks were, the colour of her hair, her height, her voice, her technique. Everything about her, Hiccup was thinking of. "She is just amazing. How is it that I never met her sooner? What made her come to Berk now?" He kept asking himself as well as Toothless the many questions that he doubted he would find the answers to, and that made him want to scream to the world about his agony. His head was constantly filled with the thoughts of Sheena, and he never wanted them to stop. "I want to know absolutely everything about her..."

He collapsed beside his Dragon with his arms spread out and he stared up into the evening sky. The clouds were tainted around the edges with pink and creamy yellow, the sky was a purple shade of red and only a few stars made themselves visible in that moment.

"Toothless... How am I gonna talk to her now?"

* * *

The next morning, Leila decided to join the gang in the academy since she had nothing else to do. Astrid, Fishlegs and Ruffnut were escorting her. Hiccup, Tuffnut, toothless and Snoutlout were already at the training arena discussing how today's lesson was going to happen. "What do you guys do at the arena, anyway?" asked Leila.

"It's more about learning the strengths and weaknesses of your communication with your Dragon, and how you can use it to your advantage while you're flying out in the world." said Astrid. "Hiccup is pretty much the teacher there, even though he knew Toothless way before we realised we could even get along with Dragons."

"Yeah, Sheena. You should see us there. It's really awesome. You do things like taming a Terrible Terror, learning where to scratch a Nadder to calm them down, and things like that." said Fishlegs. "And-"

"Okay, she doesn't need a lecture!" said Ruffnut. "Please stop talking."

"Sorry, Ruffnut." was the timid response.

Leila couldn't help the little giggle that escaped her lips. "Don't worry guys. I'm sure it'll be fun."

"Oh, you'll love it!" said Astrid. "Come on, let's hurry before we're in trouble for being late!"


	13. Chapter 13

When they reached the arena, Hiccup had just finished making a few sketches and notes. Today wasn't really going to be a lesson in general, more of a 'knowing-Sheena's-knowledge-on-taming-Dragons' type of session. Already, he has prepared to have Toothless be the main course for this period to even work, and Toothless was more than happy to oblige. "Alright gang! Today, we are actually going to be doing a few little tests. Sheena here," Leila's eyes looked at him with curiosity, "Is going to be performing a couple techniques when it comes to taming a Dragon. Toothless is going to be the main subject and how efficient Sheena's performance is will give us the information we need to define her level in training. Sheena, if you would like to come forth, please?"

Hesitantly, Leila stepped forth with her hands mingling with each other to resemble her nervousness of the situation. "Okay."

"All you have to do is, whenever Toothless comes to you, you have to use a different technique that either relaxes him or keeps him under control. Got it?" She nodded. Hiccup clapped his hands together and the gang stood to one side. "Okay, go!"

Immediately, Toothless sprang for her, but Leila had a hidden smirk. _'Seriously, Toothless? Are you really gonna wrestle me?'_ she asked him in Dragonese.

_'Duh! Where's the fun if you can't wrestle?' _was the Dragon's childlike reply before he tackled her to the ground. _'Besides, I finally get to knock you down!'_ he laughed.

Leila grabbed his head, then discreetly pulled a fistful of dragon-nip and pressed it up to Toothless' nose. He immediately stopped and dropped weak in the knees, whimpering and blissful. However, it didn't last very long, Leila performed a special rubbing technique, which sent him down into even further bliss. Hiccup and the gang looked on from the side line in amazement. She then had a new idea... she decided to recite a special chant. All that could be heard was a mumble and a whisper from the gang's point of view and, all of a sudden, Toothless became someone completely new. not even Hiccup saw this side of Toothless.

He acted like a kind of guard, but submitted to every word that Leila said without protest. "Sit." He sat. "Hover." He barely flew three feet from the ground. "Lingering spiral." He flew very gently through the arena in a circular motion, occasionally rising higher than Fishlegs but span nonetheless. "Land." He landed right in front of her, with a slight bow.

_'How did you make me do that, Princess Leila?' _asked Toothless. _'Not even Hiccup could make me do that.'_

Leila laughed and just petted him before mumbling a few words under her breath, and he was released from command. _'I know every secret of every Dragon... It's a gift from the Gods.'_

* * *

**_Hiccup's POV:_**

Sheena, there is just something about you that I am trying to reach but it is too far from my grasp. There is something you're not telling me, or anyone for that matter. One minute, you're open just like the sky and the ocean, but as soon as I see something of you that reveals itself, you shut the door again. What is it that makes you afraid to leave the door open for more than a few moments? Would you ever be able to tell me? You and Toothless seem pretty secretive, but I don't want this. I want to know everything about you, I want to know every secret you have, and I want to cherish every part of you.

Yes, I know, we've only just recently met. But... I feel like there is so much more to you than meets the eye. There is something that connects us, I feel like I belong to you.

Sheena... I think I'm falling for you.

If you would tell anyone, would I be your first choice?


	14. Chapter 14

The next week as Leila sat by the lake with Toothless in the cove, she wondered about things. Things that shouldn't even be noticed but they have been by her eyes. As the Mehraeia, she was meant to notice even the smallest of changes that could alter the balance of nature. That was the mistake she made centuries ago. She didn't keep the balance, she let it go out of her control and now she was stuck. Toothless understood this, and he was supportive of her. He was maybe the closest to her than even her own bloodline has been, Viking or Dragon. As she was the Princess, Toothless felt like it was his duty to be there for her when no one else could be and he would be by her side at all times. He could see sadness when the Vikings could not, and that made Leila feel better knowing that she could talk to him even though he was a Dragon and she was Human for as long as her Other Half was kept away from reach.

But there was something else that was bothering her, and Leila knew that Toothless wasn't going to drop it until he found out.

_'Come on, Leila. Tell me. What's wrong?'_

Leila sighed as she turned to face him and started scratching the back of his neck._ 'I'm not getting out of this one, am I?' _She laughed as Toothless shook his head with his signature gummy-smile. _'Okay.'_ She put her hands to her elbows and folded them under her chest so as to hunch forward slightly like she was huddling herself from the cold but she leaned back against Toothless either way. _'Well. It's about me being the Mehraeia.'_

_'What about that?'_

_'Well, you know how I cannot transform into a Dragon anymore but I'll still be able to live for just as long. The thing about it is that, what's the point in having a Dragon's ability if you can't use it? I don't want to be stuck as a human forever, Toothless.'_ she sighed._ 'I've been robbed of half of my life for the last few hundred years and all I wanted to do was stop the war between two species. It was my fault that it happened and so it was my duty to end it. But when I saw how far gone the battle was, there was little that could have been done.'_

_'That's not true.' _replied Toothless._ 'You did everything you could to stop us from fading to exist. You did everything in your power to stop the war, but us damned species refused to listen to one another. It's not your fault, it's our ancestors for not willing to accept the fact that you were part of two worlds and you wanted to be involved with both.'_

_'How can you know that much from such few words?'_

Toothless shrugged._ 'It's what you get from hanging out with Hiccup.'_

Leila laughed. It was a good laugh. At least someone could make her smile truly without fail. If anyone, it was Toothless and the rest of Berk. But she still let the happiness fade away with the realisation._ 'I just want to be whole again.'_

Toothless snorted._ 'I don't think you were ever whole in the first place.'_

Leila raised her eyebrow at him._ 'How come?'_

_'Well if you think about it, you never actually were involved with two worlds at the same time, were you?' _She shook her head._ 'Didn't think so. It wasn't until recently where you saw the bond that everyone in Berk shared with us Dragons. Hell, if it wasn't for Hiccup trying to befriend me then you wouldn't ever have seen that bond.' _Toothless then noticed that Leila seemed to be turning a bright pink colour in her cheeks. He remembered that it is what humans do when they're embarrassed or thinking about someone or something they like. To be a tease, he tested this theory. _'In fact, Hiccup is-'_ he cut himself off when Leila's cheeks turned even brighter with pink. The wheels in his head began to turn... Bingo! He raised his scaly brow in a teasing way, _'You like Hiccup. don't you?' _To be honest, Leila was not doing herself any good as she turned away from him and shyly shook her head. Toothless laughed. _'You do! I know you do! Don't deny it!'_

_'Oh, shut up!'_ was the shy but irritated response. _'I don't like Hiccup.'_

Toothless just nodded. _'Hey, come on. I'm not mad. It's a good thing! And I'm pretty sure he feels the same way about you.'_

_'What?'_

Toothless just groaned,_ 'Hiccup likes you! It's obvious!'_

_'How are you so sure?'_

"Sheena, hi!" came a voice from the entrance to the cove. And to Toothless' amusement and Leila's surprise, it was Hiccup. "I was wondering where you were."

"Really?"

_'Duh!'_

_'Shut up, Toothless!'_

Hiccup stared between them. "Yeah. Why? What's going on with you two?"

Leila shook her head and stroked her arm. "Nothing, just me and Toothless having a little chit-chat."

"Oh, okay. What about?"

"Nothing in particular."

Hiccup shrugged it off. "Okay then. Actually, Sheena... I was wondering if you would, um... If you would like to come with me and Toothless for a little bit of flying. I know you prefer the ground or something like that, but... I just wanted to offer you a chance to, maybe, see the skies again?" He seemed very nervous and his palms were fidgeting like they were sweaty and there was a barely noticeable blush that crept to his cheeks. Okay, that was new! Leila looked to Toothless for help, who just shrugged with a hint of amusement in his apparent innocence of the situation. Looking back and forth between Toothless and Hiccup, she didn't know what to decide.

She didn't want to hurt Hiccup's feelings, but she also didn't want to reach the skies because of her fear. Yes, her fear.

But doesn't everyone face their fear at least once in their lifetime? When was she going to face hers?

With that thought in mind, she looked to Hiccup once more with a sincere smile and with an unknown courage in her eyes. "I would love to."


	15. Chapter 15

Within the next few minutes, Toothless was saddled, Hiccup was ready to go, and Leila was still a nervous wreck from being able to fly for the first time in over two hundred years. "Alright bud, be gentle ok?" Toothless snorted to say 'yes'. They went to the top of a towering pine. It bowed and creaked under their weight as Leila eyed the height and then the ground far, far below. After a moment, she grabbed Hiccup's outstretched hand and reluctantly climbed over the pedal, lines, and harness.

She settled behind Hiccup. "Okay, I'm ready." _'Toothless, please don't scare me. It's been a long time.'_

_'I wouldn't dream of it.'_ was the reply. And he sprung into the air.

However, Leila had a death grip around Hiccup's rib cage and she refused to look at anything at all. She could still feel the wind rushing through her and the beat of her heart was heavier than before, she felt the air making her feel like she was higher than she had ever been before. But she refused to look still. Hiccup, however, noticed that she was tense and could feel her head pressed into his back. As glad as he was that she was holding him, probably the closest contact he ever had with her and probably will never reach something further, he wanted her to see the world around her. Maybe if he asked her to... "Sheena..."

"Huh?" was the fearful response.

"Open your eyes..."

Could she? Would she? Yes, she desperately wanted to, but memories of being restrained on the ground made her hold back from being just a little more free than when she was locked in her cage. Could she bring herself to open them? Yes, she could. And the sight of it all was amazing. It was most definitely worth it.

The sunset made the ocean glisten like a million sapphires trapped on the sandy floor, the clouds were fluffy and blended with the fiery red of the evening sky and the little dots of light that were sprinkled randomly up high. The village of Berk beneath them was a spectacular view, the many scattered torches that were left burning radiated the glow from the many blades of grass and, well, nothing could have compared to that sight. The wind carried them like a feather rather than a couple flying a dragon, and it brought so much feeling into Leila that she just felt like she was floating in the air and that was nothing to either bring her up or drag her down.

For the first time, in a very long time. She finally felt an ounce of freedom.

* * *

"Well, Sheena. I am certainly impressed."

"Why, thank you Hiccup." said Leila with a smile. "I can't believe that, for the first time in forever... I actually flew." For the first time in many years, Leila actually smiled with utter joy.

Hiccup nodded in agreement, "I know, it's amazing isn't it? I'm surprised you kept on the ground for so long when you knew what it was like to fly." Leila punched him in the shoulder to show that she already knew and that she had her reasons, though she smiled to make it posed like a lighthearted manner. "But yeah. What made you stay on the ground for so long? I mean, what made you change your mind?" he asked with a smile and turned to look straight ahead. Leila stopped as Hiccup kept walking further with Toothless down the path to the village. Yes, that was definitely a question she couldn't answer. _'What made you change your mind?' _But that was the thing... She didn't change her mind. She just couldn't fly because she didn't have a choice. _'The Gods stole my Other Half... for me to be able to face that fact that I will probably never again be able to fly for myself is why I stay on the ground... It stops me from looking for a false hope...' _Hiccup then realised that she wasn't walking beside him and Toothless, and looked back to see her with her arms wrapped around herself and she stared at the ground. "Sheena?" She didn't look at him. "Sheena..." he said once more in a whisper. "What is it?"

She didn't dare to look at him with the fear that the truth will set in her eyes. There was so much fear... So much she knew she had to face, but she was so afraid of it all. Afraid to lose everything. _'I don't want to be like this anymore. Isn't a few hundred years long enough? Why make me suffer even more?' _Oh, she wanted to tell Hiccup so badly. Terribly, she wanted to let out every secret she held within herself, she wanted him to know everything about her. But would he listen to her?

"Sheena, you know you can tell me don't you?" he lifted her chin with his index finger for her eyes to meet his own, the blue sky against the green grass. "Please... Don't hurt yourself."

Leila looked to Toothless. _'What should I do, Toothless?'_

Toothless shrugged, _'Tell him the truth, I guess.'_

Leila then again looked at Hiccup who had worry in his emerald eyes. She now knew... she wasn't going to be afraid anymore. "Hiccup, I..."

"Yes?"

"I..."

"Yes..."

With each uttered whisper, Hiccup's face inched closer to hers at a incredibly slow pace. He cupped her check in his hand and inched even closer. Toothless watched with complete fascination, and he knew what was going to happen. Leila also knew what he was trying to do. And it felt so right. But she wanted to tell him first. And the fear then crept inside her gut once more. Any closer, and Hiccup will have placed his lips over her own. She would taste the scent of the sweet grass by the ocean. She would smell the salty air on his skin and feel the warmth of his Summer breath. One more move, any closer... Just a little closer...

"HICCUP!" Immediately, the two sprang apart. It was Astrid. "Hiccup, Sheena! Guys, thank god I found you! We need to get back to Berk. We're under attack!"


	16. Chapter 16

Astrid, Hiccup and Leila sprang back to Berk. Little did Leila know that her appearance on Berk had spread through the entire north hemisphere and lingered through the sewers of the east. "Why are we under attack?!" asked Hiccup. "What happened?"

"I don't know." said Astrid. "All I know is that someone in our village is wanted by someone called Kael."

"Wait a minute." said Leila. "Kael?"

The village drowned in fire, every house, the sheep were scattered and the Dragons were roaring and trying to fly away but were restrained in fear without their riders. Explosions occurred here and there, and the fellow villagers were screaming and running all over the place. Leila was in great fear herself. She didn't know that this would happen and to an innocent home nonetheless. Her heart pounded in her ears as she, Hiccup, Toothless and Astrid ran through the crowd of screaming Vikings.

"Are they after someone?!" asked Leila.

Astrid nodded, "Yes, Sheena. Someone called Kael is looking for someone called Princess Leila."]

Leila's eyes stopped blinking. _'No! Not now! Not now!' _was all that ran through her head.

* * *

"WHERE IS SHE?!" shouted Finn, a burly man with a thick moustache, as he punched Stoic in the stomach. "I'm going easy on you! Don't make me push the limit further."

"I don't know what you're talking about!" replied Stoic as he coughed violently. He had scratches and bruises on his face and arms and his stomach from being hit. "We don't know anyone called Leila."

Finn didn't believe a single word he said and punched him across the face. Stoic groaned in pain, and Valka could only watch in shock and worry. "That's the thing, Stoic. You're lying. She is here and we know it." Astrid, Hiccup and Leila peeked around the corner to watch the entire scene. "One of our spies was here the whole time and watched her every move. She has been living here over the last few weeks. You know what she looks like." and he laughed deeply. "Dark hair, blue eyes, rosy cheeks. She has twin daggers along with a sword and a bow and carries the weapon for archery."

Hiccup stormed in. "Get away from my father!" he screamed, but he made no reach to the burly man as he was restrained himself by two grown men of twice his build. Over in the corner, he saw the twins, Fishlegs and Snoutlout tied and gagged with rope and clothes. "What are you doing?! Let them go!"

"Why, we are looking for the Mehraeia of course." said Finn and punched Stoic once more.

"No!" was the first word that Valka managed to make throughout the entire commotion. "Please, stop!"

Astrid then came in, she made her way through by punching and beating everyone who dared to lay a finger on her with the hope that she would be able to save the gang as well as Hiccup, Valka and the Chief. She too, was restrained in the end. "We don't know what the Mehraeia is! Even if we did, do you think we would have known by now?!"

Finn laughed even harder. "You foolish Vikings, so brave but incredibly stupid! SHE WAS RIGHT UNDER YOUR NOSES AND YOU NEVER BOTHERED TO ASK!" he screamed, and it echoed through the air, making everyone practically flinch. "Why, she is just as I described..." Leila looked on with fear and tears threatened to punch their way through to the surface. Her grip on the wooden post nearly made hundreds of splinters present themselves with glory._ 'No, please! No!' _"Curly brown hair, blue eyes and the same weaponry; daggers, a sword and a bow and arrows. She wears a black armour and a black mask to cover her face. Now, I'm not going to waste my time... Where is-"

"Right here!" said a feminine voice. Leila had her sword in her grip. "Let them go, Finn."

Finn looked on with wide eyes before he took out his own sword and spun it in hand. He laughed venomously, "I see that you've decided to take a new look."

Hiccup looked on with confusion. "Sheena, what's going on?"

"So you decided to change your name again, huh?" Finn tried once more before he shrugged. "You still do not look like a Cara."

Leila squinted her eyes in annoyance. "What do you expect after centuries of running away from people like you?"

"I expected you to be a tad kinder... Leila..."

"What?!" the other Vikings all chanted in a whisper in their own timing. But Hiccup was the worst. He didn't know what to do, or say. He didn't know what to believe, he didn't know what was the truth and what was a lie. He had to know. "Sheena..." he said, and Leila turned to him with sadness. "Who are you?"

She sighed and bowed her head. "I am Princess Leila, and as far as I know... the last of the Mehraeia."


	17. Chapter 17

That night, every Viking was placed in cages separate from their Dragons. Berk was left to burn and rot to dust, and the prisoners could only gaze on with sadness and pain at the sight of their beloved home. Gone. Unseen while they remain in their cages.

Leila hated this. She didn't want this, and now after four hundred years, she was finally found. To be honest, in a way she was glad that she was caught because it meant that no more people were going to get hurt after she left, but she hated herself for it because either way she still got at least one person hurt thanks to her stupidity. To be honest, she knew she was going to get caught at some point, it was just the matter of when, where and how. She knew that at some point the Vikings would learn the truth and shun her away from their hearts, away from them completely. After four hundred years, she will finally face the fact that she is unwanted, a danger to them. Finn, Kael's servant, was finally satisfied after years of searching for her and the journey has made him weary.

But Kael? She had yet to face his wrath...

As the Mehraeia, she must pay the price for the Great War that still lingered on. With her arch nemesis, Kael.

_'What's going on, Princess?'_ asked Toothless. _'Where are we being taken...? I'm scared.'_

Leila turned to him with an expression that was emotionless, meaningless and unwanted. She looked like a complete stranger. _'We are being taken to Kael.'_

Toothless' eyes widened entirely and his black pupils thinned to a straight line. 'The Dragon King?'

Leila nodded. 'Yes, after all these years he has finally found me.'

_'Wait, are you giving in?'_ Leila turned away once more, her head crouched between her arms and her knees crushing her chest. _'No! You're not giving up! You can't.'_

_'It's too late, Toothless... I've been running ever since my power was taken. I'm not going to be helped out of this anytime soon. Just face it. It's over...'_

* * *

**_Hiccup's POV:_**

I can't believe it. Everything... Sheena was made up, nothing but a lie. A fake identity for the sake of survival.

I was used, and after everything I gave her, I appreciated her, I cared for her, and she just had me thrown into a cage like a piece of trash. What was her problem? What did I ever do to her?

Sheena, my beautiful Sheena, where are you? Will you ever come back?

Leila... I hate that name... Where did Sheena go, or did she not exist?


	18. Chapter 18

The trip was extremely long and weary, and most of the Vikings starved due to lack of portions of meat or fish fresh from the bone. If anything to eat, it was a small piece of corn or nothing. Finn found it extremely amusing that they suffered, including Leila. He never forgot the day that was promised to him when he would be free and have power to rule by his Dragon King, as his rider. But he didn't want to be a co-ruler. He wanted to be the only ruler, and by taming the Dragon King he plans just that. But Leila? No, she hoped not. She knew that the Dragon King could not be tamed, he would just use Finn and her to get what he wanted. And he wanted her dead for centuries, and he would make sure she was even if it meant that Finn had to die for her to be killed.

_'This is it.'_ she thought. _'I'm finally going to die.'_

Finn looked ahead and a smirk was plastered when his eyes glinted with sickening joy. "We're here!"

Hiccup, his parents and the gang looked between the bars that held them captive to find a most awful sight. the many acres of fields were layered with black mist and dust, the grass was grey and dead and the sky was dull with thunder and lightening far above, there were no trees nearby, only a large mountain stood in the centre of the new realm. A black desert stood in former and disgusting glory.

"Where are we?" asked Fishlegs.

"In the land of no tomorrow." answered Leila, and they all turned to her but she dared not to look them in the eye. "It goes by many names in many different tribes, and in one story, it is where those who are desperate enough seek help from the Devil himself, trading their goods or their loved ones for the sake of survival for themselves and avoiding death and pain. But they are caught in the end. No one escapes though many have tried." Leila turned... and she met Hiccup's gaze. "We are in Ordenfour... and hope doesn't exist here."

"But how would you know that?" asked Astrid. "I thought those who come here don't come out."

"I didn't say that." Leila replied dimly, "And I know this because..." She closed her eyes to prevent the threatening feelings fighting through to the surface but she failed, a transparent tear made its way down her cheek. "Because my Father created this land."

_'Wait...'_ said Toothless. _'In the story, it was Kael who created Ordenfour.'_

Leila nodded. "Yes, Kael created Ordenfour."

_'But you said your father did!'_ said an unrecognised voice. Leila turned to meet Stormfly. _'The Dragon King built this land!'_

"The Dragon King built this land." the other remained confused. "But he was also my father."


	19. Chapter 19

They travelled in further to the black of night, Toothless was full of fear and as Leila was placed in the same cage as him he hid his head into her chest for comfort. _'Leila, I'm so scared... What's going to happen?'_

Leila soothingly ran her fingers over his scales and accompanied the touch with a quiet release of her breath. _'I don't know Toothless. We can only have faith that we will survive tonight at least. If I have to, I will bargain my life for you to go free.'_

Toothless glared at her and growled as he bared his teeth. _'No! You've already risked your identity for us all to go free. I will not let you sacrifice yourself as your half of some deal! What would Hiccup say?'_ But what was next to happen made him cower with fear at the strength of a form entirely unexpected.

_'HICCUP HATES ME!'_ she yelled. _'IT WILL BE THAT WAY UNTIL THE END OF TIME! JUST BECAUSE I GIVE MY LIFE TO SAVE HIM IT DOESN'T MEAN HE WILL LIKE ME ANYMORE THAN TO GO BEYOND THE HATE HE HOLDS IN HIS HEART!'_ Her own teeth were bare, her eyes were no longer blue since they changed to a dangerous Dragon-like gold with a pair of thin black lines for pupils. Her skin paled and her fists clenched to whiteness. And Toothless cowered in fear at the mere sight of her. _'IF IT WASN'T FOR ME, YOU WOULD HAVE BEEN FREE TO LIVE YOUR LIVES!' _But she stopped with realisation. She saw now how Toothless was afraid, his wings curled into himself and he bowed his head to avoid meeting her gaze. Slowly, the golden penetration of fear changed to the strength of the steel blue that brought courage and happiness. "Toothless?" she spoke in the human tongue, but Toothless still avoided the soft request. She could hear a small whine that immediately broke her heart. "Toothless..." she whispered, more to herself than him, and she kneeled beside him. "Toothless... I'm sorry... I don't know what came over me." And not even two moments after so, Toothless met her gaze, but there were crystals falling from his eyes. Leila's eyes widened. She made him cry. "Oh, Toothless!" and she held him close to her. "I'm so sorry."

Toothless purred. _'No, I should be sorry... I've pushed it.'_

Leila shook her head. _'No, you didn't. You just stated a truth that I'm afraid to admit to myself... I should be sorry, not you... I forgive you when there is nothing to forgive... But can you forgive me?'_

Toothless nodded and purred even more._ 'As long as I am able to see you smile.'_

Finn opened the door at the centre of the mountain. It was gloomy and sinister and the cold air that flew in made everyone's skin shiver with goose bumps and grind their teeth to prevent the quiver of the chattering. The pillars were as thick as a cliff and kept the large room standing proudly as their design resembled a venomous snake along with a mixture of smoking eel.

"Ordenfour..." whispered Valka. "I can't believe I've not heard of such a place."

"You wouldn't have." said Leila. "The Dragons have always known as part of the obedience of my father King Kael to come and seek justice here as well as good for their being with the trade of their beloved ones, but as I mentioned before they died anyway. After the out-worlders discovered the treachery of this place they helped my Half-Kin escape to the ends of the world and so the freedom of the Dragons was created. But many stayed as servants to the Dragon King in fear of being hunted and they remained here for the rest of their lives. But when there was no more use for them, Kael would wave his hand and the Death Sentence was carried at dawn."

"That's awful..." said Astrid. "How could he do such a thing?"

Leila looked at her. "He may seem awful now, but that is not even the beginning of what he's capable of. What you should really fear is the gaze of his eyes freezing your soul." she said, the venom reaching the saliva on her tongue to heighten the hatred she held for her father. "Whenever he speaks is like being stabbed in the stomach, blooding spurting from your every limb and you feel faint to the point of death. He may not be wise but he is cunning, manipulative and can alter your mind to insanity. Every breath he takes is like a storm of snow and gives you the bite of blackness to represent the emptiness of emotion and feeling. His sickening laugh makes you wish you were never born... He is your worst nightmare..."

"And that's bad?" asked Snoutlout. "I could take him on!"

Leila gave a huff for a chuckle and faced him with dead-seriousness. "Do you think that's it to him...?" Snoutlout looked at the others, and Hiccup who stared at Leila for the entire conversation, Snoutlout had no response and returned his eyes onto Leila. "That is nothing compared to the beginning of the living hell he has made of my life."

* * *

Large doors made of hard stone were opened to reveal a palace-like room, there was a single throne in between two pillars both with the fire as a symbol for Dragons and sword for the making of Vikings. The throne held a person. The dark purple robes with a tint of faint silver on the hood hid a face of terror. The moment Hiccup heard something speak, he swore that he wanted to end his life just to stop form puking up his insides.

"Ah... Is she found?" spoke a snake-like voice as wrinkled, murky hands tapped the arm of the solid metal throne with patience. "Has Leila been found?"

Finn bowed before him. "Yes, my King... But we also have caught an entire tribe of Vikings in our hunt. And Dragons of many varieties."

"And I, Kael, should admire this before me as to why?" replied the robed creature. "All I wanted was my daughter, and you bring me much more. Why must you waste yourself into searching for unwanted... things...?" His tone was sinister and devious... Like cracking ice as thick as a glacier. Even Stoic flinched at the use of the devil's sound.

Finn chuckled nervously but he tried to make it sound more evil. "I thought of bringing you a surprise gift. It also comes with the Chief of the Vikings, and a Night Fury."

The creature smirked and removed his hood. Everyone could have sworn the Satin the Devil himself was presented in living form. His eyes were nothing but white with black slits for pupils, his skin was murky and terribly wrinkly, thousands of aging years revealed. His lips were cut in many corners and edges, and they leaked with oozing blood the colour of Toothless' scales. "Then I shall admit that this gift is certainly welcoming..." He turned to find Leila in the cage with Toothless, and with the wave of his hand she was pulled and held with two grown men loyal to Evil. "I see that you are just as young as I remember... Your age is very catching my child."

Leila huffed in irritated breaths. "I would say the same had you not abandoned my mother and I when we needed you the most."

"But your mother was just as weak as you are!" he replied in a rather enjoyed tone, rather sickening. "You are just like her..." he laughed. "I'm just surprised she stayed alive after she birthed you, and she kept you nonetheless. I half-expected her to die along with you."

"But we both survived...And why you showed up on my fifteen birthday when you hated me and my mother still remains a mystery. I'm just surprised you didn't kill me yet."

He laughed again, and it echoed all over the walls, the Vikings including the Chief, Valka and the gang huddled close together to keep their warmth radiating. Leila couldn't blame them, she was scared too. "Where would the fun be if I killed you with just the wave of my hand...? Throw them into the dungeon, but Leila stays here..." The smirk grew widely.

"We have a rather interesting catch-up session to complete."


	20. Chapter 20

Leila stood in the middle of the throne room with her fists clenched as Finn fulfilled his master's commands. Kael was easily amused by her, even though his secret visit on her fifteenth birthday was reason he kept for himself. No one knew why, or why he even let her live. He wanted Leila to know, after all she was his daughter even though he hunted her down for four centuries. He wanted to tell her and he planned to. "All right, you have me. When am I going to die?" she asked him.

He glared at her with a spiral of confusion, and his thin pupils rounded themselves, almost like he was softening. "Why do you ask such a thing? I'm not sentencing you to death."

"Don't lie to me!" she almost literally spat straight to his face. "Everyone knows you want me dead... Just kill me already."

"I'm not killing you. I wanted to see you. I wanted to see my daughter... And not under some fake identity like those who have been creating for yourself oh so often over many periods of time."

Leila turned away with frustration and stormed to a hole in the wall which was meant to be a window. "I had my reasons... You being one of them."

* * *

Meanwhile, Hiccup and the gang and his parents were in a rather cramped cell. the rusty bars were as thick as Tuffnut and strong as Toothless' fire shooting through rock. There were no more than four beds to half of the gang slept on the floor, away from their Dragons who were chained and in the courtyard guarded by black figures of smoke.

"What now?" asked Astrid.

"What do you mean?" asked Fishlegs.

"We can't just sit here!" said Ruffnut. "After all, we need to get rid of this Kyle guy!"

"it's not Kyle, it's KAEL!" said Astrid. "There's a difference! Kyle is an average person's name whereas Kael is the biggest Bad Guy we are probably ever going to meet, and if we don't get out of here soon... like Leila said, we're going to die."

"Astrid's right." said Stoic. "But we wouldn't be here if the damn girl didn't give us a bunch of tales to fatten us up with. Why would Sheena lie about herself in the first place?"

"I know, right?" said Tuffnut. "I just wanna beat her up until her tongue bleeds!"

"I'm there first! That'll liar is gonna pay!" said Snoutlout.

"She didn't lie about anything other than her name and age..." said a soothing voice in the corner closest to the cell window. Valka looked to see barely even a single dot of light escape through the thickness of the black smoke and frowned miserably. "Leila covered her identity because she knew the risk she was taking in staying with us. And I know that because my Dragon told me on our journey here..."

"Wait!" said Hiccup. "You knew?!" immediately he stood and stormed to her, glaring her dead in the eye with his green orbs hoping to burn her with the pain he felt. "Why didn't you say anything?!"

"Because it wasn't my place." replied Valka. "And I wasn't told until our journey here... My Dragon knows her story more than I do but from what I know, it is terrible... She has been living in fear for centuries so it is no wonder that she covered her identity, but I don't think she did it just for her own sake, but rather all of our sakes... I think she lied to protect us because she knew it would happen one day, but to whom she didn't know..."

"Huh? What do you mean?" was Hiccup's curious response.

Valka looked to him. "Leila has been running from her own father for hundreds of years... Four centuries is a long time Hiccup." At the word 'centuries' Hiccup instantly felt something else in his chest, a hammering of some kind, almost like regret. "Why she is running is because there was a War, much like what we have faced last year." she said. "Long ago, there once lived a girl who has a Half-Blood, Dragon AND Human. She was known as the Mehraeia, and therefore could change her appearance from looking like us into any species of Dragon and back and forth whenever she wanted to. Along with this came the Dragon's abilities of Immortality, Strength, Fire and Flight... Leila possessed it all, but she felt incomplete because she knew that she was the only one of her kind... She was terribly lonely..."

"She was the only Half-Blood of Human and Dragon?" asked Astrid. "That's awful."

Valka nodded. "I agree... But her father was the only Pureblood who could morph into a human-like vision and so he mated with Leila's mother who remains lost in History, and Leila was born... Her mother died but she lived on and Kael never cared. The only time he actually remained in her life was when War crossed paths with him."

"But what does War have to do with her?" asked Ruffnut. "How did she get involved?"

"She was involved because the War was meant to be used as a decision tactic... Meaning that Leila couldn't choose to be both."

Hiccup looked at her. Confused. _'Wh__at did Leila have to decide?'_ he asked himself with definite uncertainty.

* * *

"Leila. What did you expect?" asked Kael in anger. "That you were to be both and live happily ever after? It doesn't work that way! My Bloodline is a proud one and I would not have you choose to be a Human over a Dragon."

"I DIDN'T CARE ABOUT THAT!" she screamed, and the power behind the sound made the rocks above shake like a possibility of collapsing on top of them. But Kael held his ground, the only difference was the size of his eyes. "All I ever wanted was to be myself... I didn't care if I was changing appearances or flying or walking, because I was happy to be me. The only thing wrong with that was you not accepting who I am."

* * *

"Leila?" said Stoic. "Leila had to what?"

"As the Princess..." said Valka in a simple and deadly tone. "Leila had to make the decision to either carry on the Royal Bloodline, or forfeit the throne to end the world... She didn't make her choice."

* * *

"If it wasn't for you, no one would be risking their lives, there would be no hate and I wouldn't have lost everyone I ever cared about..."

"But you deserved it." said Kael. With every step he took closer to her, the room darkened which made his eyes seem hauntingly brighter. "You are the abomination. You are the failure to my Bloodline. You are my bane..." As he grabbed her arm, she flinched at the coldness he possessed and she could feel numbness creeping through every limb and it hurt her, terribly. He could see that she was suffering, even though he didn't like it but he loved to see someone was weaker than him because it made him think that he was stronger, better, powerful. He laughed at the sight of her before he tossed her to the floor, but it looked more like she collapsed as she was thrown. "Put her with the others." he commanded. "I want her so-called 'friends' to teach her a lesson."


	21. Chapter 21

The story was only half told when the cell gates were opened and the Vikings turned to see two figures holding a weakened Leila, they practically dragged her into the cell. Hiccup was first to actually look on in disgust at the sight of her, but not at her in particular. Instead, her saw the blackness on her skin, blistering and a few small but noticeable blobs of blood oozing to the surface. He grimaced at the rest of her, her skin was sweaty, her hair was a state and the rosiness in her cheeks had faded entirely. He felt disgusted for such a thing happening to her, and yet he felt like she deserved it. _'But what did she do to deserve it?'_ was the question he asked himself.

Unsure, he stared onwards as Valka immediately went to her aid. "Leila! Are you all right?" she asked as she saw the pain on her features.

Leila nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine... Ugh! It happens." she moaned slightly and squeezed her arm.

Valka shook her head in disbelief. "No, you're not... And the look on your face proves it."

"Wait a second!" said Fishlegs. "Look! It's healing!" And sure enough, the blackness and the blood on Leila's arm pretty much dissolved away before the naked eye. The ooziness of the red droplets, even though they fell to the floor, just evaporated into thin air and the wrinkled skin that was bitten and burnt peeled from her arm like layers of the raw onion and the gang could swear that they thought they were going to see an actual bone under the skin. Hiccup was most surprised at the sight because he never saw anything like it. Curse Fishlegs for opening his mouth the next second! "How did you even do that?!"

Leila shrugged, "It's been like that all my life. Whenever I have an injury as bad as this, even when non-intentional, it's just natural for me to heal immediately."

"That's a special gift you have, lass." said Stoic. "But I'm afraid you cannot be welcome back to Berk... If we ever get out of here, of course." he said.

Leila nodded, "I understand, sir. And I take the entire blame for every wrong I have created since I have met every single one of you. As Princess, it is my responsibility to correct my mistakes and I intend to correct them by leaving you in peace but not before your safety is made and far away from here." And when she made eye contact with Hiccup for the first time, he swore that he was looking completely at someone else. She didn't have that glow that made him swoon slightly, because it was replaced with utter regret. _'What did she regret?'_ he asked himself once more. Her radiant skin was sickly with paleness in the dark of the cell. But what really struck him was that her steel blue eyes seemed so dull and grey like stone, as if she lost all feeling of goodness inside her. They weren't full of... they weren't full of confidence anymore.

It was then that Hiccup wanted to forgive her for the ill doing. He wanted to forget Sheena... and feel something for Leila.

* * *

Kael paced back and forth in an irritated manner. "How could she deny me yet again?!" he shouted to himself but nonetheless it echoed through the walls and the stone-points rattled above him. "She was supposed to give in!" He gripped a copper goblet and threw it against the wall, resulting in many cracks as the goblet made it's permanent mark, stuck in place.

He knew that Leila was stubborn, but he didn't think that she would have declined him for this long, not for any more than fifty years. Then again, he should have known that she would gain his abilities in life as she is his daughter after all. He didn't want her to say no. He wanted her to give in to him, and let him rule. He wanted the most powerful weapon in existence and he knew that Leila possessed it inside her soul. The question was how he was going to get it, even with her refusal. He knew that she was the key to his power. He knew ever since he found the prophecy. And he recalled it in his mind.

_'When one is born of Dragon and Human blood, they will be born with a special ability that enables a strength that only the Gods could wield and control. But if one was able to tame the One of this Bloodline, known as the Mehraeia, then he or she shall have the power to either protect the world or destroy it._

_If in the wrong hands, the Mehraeia will not be under control and their power shall have the world cease from existence.'_

"I have to have it!" said Kael once more. "And if I don't, my death is joined by the rest of the world."


	22. Chapter 22

Hiccup sat in the corner. He sat in complete regret of these recent events. What he wanted was to escape from all of this, to fly on Toothless again without a care in the world. He wanted to be free again, and not trapped in this damn cell! He looked around to find Leila in the same position as him, in a corner and full of regret. If he was to be honest with himself, he could see that Leila was actually no different than him. He recalled the many moments that he shared with her and he realised what they have in common. He had determination, emotion, logic, the skills of a blacksmith and eyes of an explorer. As for Leila? She was practically the same, but what was different was that she was a Half-Blood and he was Human. And he hated that fact.

He looked at Leila, and for some reason... For some ridiculously unknown reason... He saw a better world in her eyes rather than his own.

"Hiccup." was muttered, and he turned to find Valka sitting beside him. "What is it?" she asked.

Hiccup sighed and shook his head in some form of grief. "I don't know..."

"What are you thinking about then...?" she tried, and with a small smile, he saw that she already knew. "I bet that it's about Leila."

Not even bothering to put up a fight, he nodded. "Yeah... I was just thinking about me and her."

"Tell me about it, sweetheart." she said with the lovingness that any mother could have but it seemed like only she held that gift. "You know I'm here for you."

He sighed once more before he gave his explanation. "When I met her, I saw a beautiful girl called Sheena and I got to know her when I brought her home to stay with us. But then I took her for a flight with Toothless just to find out that she was lying about who she was..." he turned so his back was facing Valka and he hunched forward to lean into his arms. Valka could only rub his back soothingly as proof that she was listening to every word. "When I looked at her before, I saw a girl that was part of a mystery and it made me want to explore with her, like travelling across the world just to find an adventure. Now... Now, what I see is Leila trying to something not form everyone else, but herself."

"And why would you say that?" asked Valka.

"Because the fear I saw in Toothless when I met him is what I now see in Leila."

* * *

Astrid was not much better than Leila of course, but she was more focused on Leila than herself or Hiccup or anyone else for that matter. She knew now how much Leila has sacrificed for them and she, also like Leila, was in regret. she thought about what Leila had done, and it turned out that when the village was attacked and they were after Leila, she willingly sacrificed herself to protect them. She knew now that the reason behind it was because the running from her true life didn't help herself or anyone else.

She was okay with that now. and to prove it she sat by Leila, not as a Viking. As a friend. "Hey." she muttered, and Leila looked at her with sadness. She thought Astrid would hate her, scold her for lying and possibly beat her up, but instead she was being talked to as an equal and she didn't understand it. After everything, Astrid was talking to her as a person and not a hater. "Look, I know that it's tough for you, I get that!" said Astrid. "But lying to us wasn't an option."

"I know, but I did it for protection."

Astrid nodded at the toneless reply. "But why protect us when you knew the consequences?" She was most definitely curious about her, sure she was mad at first but it melted away as quick as it came because of what she heard. And she wanted to know Leila's side of it.

"It's no matter where I go, I knew that at least one person knew my story. And I didn't want them to know, because it would be their lives at stake. Not only that," and she looked down, a tear ready to fall... "I just wanted somewhere to be, to call home."

"Something good has come out of this, though." Astrid replied, and Leila turned back to her in curiosity. "We have possibly the coolest person sitting right next to me." and she smiled, a true smile that somehow enlightened her with just a candle's flicker of joy. With her arms open (and self-healed of course), she pulled Astrid into her embrace. They stayed in that hug for just a few but well-cherished moments. "Also... I haven't seen Hiccup smile like he did when he's around you. It's like you've brought out something in him and it made him feel complete."

"I wish it could be the same right now."

Astrid nodded. "Me too." They still held each other for a few minutes as the quietness drowned everything other than the breaths they took. In a way, it was a peaceful air that not even a Viking could have been satisfied with unless there was nothing else to rely upon for gateway leading far from insanity. For Astrid, it felt like when she first flew with Stormfly somehow. Somehow, it made her feel free and the irony of it all was that she was trapped in a cage. _'I guess nothing is what they appear to be.'_ she thought. But then... a smile made her to her face as a glint of white began to shine in her eyes. Immediately, she started a dance that resembled some kind of joy that everyone seemed to not get.

"Astrid, what's wrong with you?" said Tuffnut.

"Why are you so happy?" said the other twin.

Leila and Hiccup were thinking along the same lines until they realised what she could be thinking of.

"Astrid?" said Hiccup. "Are you thinking what I think you're thinking?"

Astrid smiled and nodded with a giggle. "We're getting out of here!"

"But how?" asked Stoic. "The guards are at every corner of the halls, and they're armed! Our dragons are on the other side of the mountain. How exactly do you plan on getting us out of here, Astrid?"

Leila interrupted. "Actually, I can help you with that! You need someone who knows the secret passageways. There's one in particular that can take you straight to your Dragons and it's not too far away from the end of this hell to our right. And so we can sneak by-"

"Without being noticed by Kael or his puppets!" said Hiccup. "Yes, it works! And-"

"We'll be able to get out of Ordenfour within the hour!" said Valka. "But the question is... How are we getting out? The cell is locked and guarded and there are no tunnels through this room."

Ruffnut then stood up and flicked her braided her to the side. "Leave this to me." was her reply with a flirtation in her tone that no one knew she had. Casually, and flirtatiously, she walked to the cell door where a very dumb-looking man was standing guard of the prisoners. Gently, she tapped on the bars of the cell, and the man instinctively turned to see Ruffnut smiling in a charming way. "Hi there." she said. "My, aren't you handsome." she said with a tone that she hated to use, but it worked very well, so well that in fact everyone else was convinced that it was entirely real.

The man was actually blushing and stuttered very badly so he couldn't form any words. When he did, all he managed was a "really?"

Ruffnut nodded. "Yeah, definitely. In fact, mind if I can sneak a kiss?" Let us just say that the guard was too willing to have a fine young lady be 'interested' in someone like him. So, to satisfy her, he leant forward and puckered up. However, what he received instead of a kiss was his head knocked into the door, "You're such an idiot." she groaned, and he fell unconscious just as she grabbed the keys and unlocked the door.

Leila was indeed relieved. Instantly, she guided everyone quietly out of the room and down the hall.

"Let's go."


	23. Chapter 23

"Your majesty!" shouted Finn with fear, he sprinted all around the halls to find his king but to no avail, he was nowhere to be seen. "Your majesty! Where are you?! It's an emergency!" And as if on cue, Kael flew in to the room with such unusually straight posture and calmness. "Ah, there you are your majesty! We have terrible news!"

"But Finn, what now could be so terrible when Leila is now locked away?" he laughed and head away to his throne. "There is nothing that could be against us, for we are free to rule without fail. And you, my most loyal servant, are free to claim any land as you please."

"But sire, they escaped!"

* * *

They froze at the sound of the guards approaching their Dragons. Only their melancholic eyes were visible as they remained hidden by rocky borders not too far away. Not only that but there were many tree burnt to death from dehydration and lack of sun, so they could easily be concealed by the dark.

Stealthily, Leila reached out with feline reflexes to assess the situation. With her eyes, she saw two men standing over a handful of Dragons with bound wings. Three others were on patrol around the edges. Their leader, along with four other men, sat in the centre. So far, she saw everyone's Dragons all together, including Toothless. "Eight men are here, forty-two Dragons tied." she said to the others quietly, knowing they could hear her. "We need to surround them."

"Alright, me and Stoic were cover the half on the right, Astrid, you go from the left, and twins, you cover the front." said Valka.

"And I will go in from behind. Hiccup, you aim for the man on the left, and Fishlegs, you aim for the middle two. Snoutlout, you cover the other three, I will go after the ones closest to the Dragons... All clear?" said Leila, the others nodded. "Alright, wait for my signal."

* * *

Kael threw his servant against the wall, black blood spilling from Finn's nose as he was inflicted with pain since he was the chosen object for Kael to break. "HOW COULD YOU LET THEM ESCAPE!" he screamed with venom escaping his acidic lips. "THEY'RE WEAKER THAN YOU, SMALLER! WHAT COULD YOU HAVE POSSIBLY DONE WRONG?!" The black chalice he once held went crashing against the far wall, breaking into a thousand pieces as he screamed. Kael stood at his throne, his hands clenching at the arms of the seat, and glared at his servant. "It was a simple task! There was but one guard and yet you failed! How did you even find your way into my best books?!" Finn tensed in pain at the insult but remained silent. All but one.

"But, your majesty-!"

Kael's eyes narrowed. "Silence! What do you know? You're nothing!" Kael whirled around and began to pace the floor. "I will expect only success from you, and so I put my finest riders up to the task! I send you out to retrieve a little girl, a girl who is no match for you all. And you, imbecile, could not even hold her captive in my own dungeons! UNDER MY WATCH!"

"I tried, your majesty, and I have failed. I hope I can have your forgiveness." Finn slithered up to him, wincing. "I beg you."

Kael considered it for a moment and then began to smile. "All right. Then do what you have to do... Go." But Finn never made it out of the door. Instead, as he turned, Kael immediately swung... with a knife... and a head rolled on to the floor, blood oozing from the rim. Kael laughed. "Fool..." he spat. He turned to the guards who were assembled in silence. "Prepare for battle!"

* * *

Hiccup was quiet, unlike the others who were talking amongst themselves, he did not feel like himself, and ever since the escape, he felt something pulling at his heart and it was unknown to him, but maybe it was just the thought of him missing his home. "Are you okay?" Astrid asked softly as he straightened.

He noted that everyone has travelled a bit further ahead with their Dragons but he didn't mind that so much as he was with Toothless who hummed with calmness. He smiled slightly and murmured, "I just feel homesick, but that is normal, I guess."

Astrid had the grace to look a bit concerned before she chuckled and released him from her seemingly unbreakable questioning. "Don't worry Hiccup, soon enough we will be back on Berk and everything will be alright." As she turned to join the others, he quickly rubbed his temples, wondering what in the world could be the missing part of him besides home, because he knew it was something else apart from that.

He rubbed his arms and started to head forward a little faster, when Astrid appeared out of nowhere by his side once more. He nearly jumped from Toothless, and muttered softly to himself, "Goodness, she needs a bell."

Astrid arched an eyebrow in humour. "Are you sure you're okay?"

He blinked at her, scowling slightly but it only made her laugh. He nodded numbly and brushed past her, trying in vain to gain control of himself. They managed to catch up with the others in minutes flat. They didn't fly but sat on their Dragons while on the ground.

They made their way at a sluggish pace along the wooden path in the damp maze of trees and branches. It was dark but their spirits were high with joy to finally be safe.

Hiccup was content just to take in the sights and sounds of the peaceful wood, enjoying the soft wind on his face and hair.

He knew that, in the upcoming days, he might find himself longing to feel the wind under his feet and the sun glimmering on his face when he flew, but right now, he was okay. But unlike normally, he was at ease and not speaking much at all. Only when asked a direct question did he speak, and when he did, everyone listened.

At one point in the first day of their journey, something happened to sour his mood a bit. They were just trecking above a large rock when he found that he could not see Leila anywhere. Blinking with widened eyes, he turned and spotted her directly behind him. He moved to the side to let her pass. However, when she came near him, she stopped and blinked, walking by Toothless with Hiccup sat on top. "Hiccup, is everything alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." he stated slightly, trying hard to keep a smile on his face. He waved her on, "Go on ahead."

"But you're upset... I know that for sure." she stated, and it was a valid point. "Everyone, we will camp here." she gestured to a little spot where the others were. "We need to stop for the night. We'll make haste in the morning."

He rubbed his arms again, and was about to object, when Stoic came over and asked, "What is the matter?"

With a tight lipped smile, he uttered, "Nothing." He stalked over to the gang and sat with them silently.

It was only after he wandered off a bit when Valka spoke with him. She found Hiccup on top of a thick branch and stated calmly, "You have been quite gloomy ever since our capture." He then turned to look at her with a hardened expression. "I know why."

Hiccup looked away, suddenly finding the scenery very interesting. It was hard to keep his gaze when he looked so determined and… angry.

Hiccup jumped slightly when he felt a gentle hand placed on his shoulder. Hiccup was forced to look into her eyes. They were so full of knowing.

Valka murmured softly, "You miss home, but there is something else, isn't there?"

Hiccup shivered at her words and tried to look away. "It's not your concern, Mom." he whispered.

Valka stared into his eyes for a long moment before she practically purred, "Oh, but it is my concern when you are missing something... or perhaps someone. Don't worry, sweetheart. I don't think she will be leaving anytime soon." She then walked back to camp.

He gaped, staring after his mother as if she'd grown more than ten heads.

When he returned to the small camp, Stoic offered a piece of bread to him, saying, "Eat, you will need all the strength you can get for the journey ahead, Hiccup." He went ahead and took it.


	24. Chapter 24

**_BTW - just a little notice, if you see bold italics in this chapter, it's a flashback! - Chloe xxx_**

* * *

For many days and nights on from their miracle, Leila got used to being around the Vikings as herself and not some identity made for safety. Instead, she felt relieved knowing that they didn't try to kill her as of yet. But she still thought about the many moments with Hiccup and Toothless that would possibly break her curse. No, she wasn't using them but she knew that they had something to do with her, maybe something that was meant to happen and she didn't even know what it was which only made her think harder.

What was it about both Hiccup and Toothless that made her think that they could be the diagnosis for her curse?

"Ugh..." she groaned to herself as she collapsed dramatically against the stone wall she leant against and sat on her rear with closed and tired eyes. "Why is it so hard to figure out the answer?" she asked herself aloud, not caring if she sounded slightly crazy because she was on her own. However, to be honest, she really wasn't.

Hiccup stood not too far away with his eyes on her. Yes to answer he questions, he was still mad at her for not telling him the truth but not completely. The rest of the emotion for her in his heart was more regret than anything else, along with another feeling that he once held for Astrid when they were together but this time, it wasn't like when his feelings for Astrid faded to being best friends because this was far more than that. He felt different this time and he really needed to know what it was. Out of his comforted sense of courage, he stepped out of the dark and toward her. "Hey..." he said quietly.

Leila looked up from her musing to see her (most likely) #1 hater standing before her with a sad expression over his complexion. "Hi." she replied with a gentle smile but it faded as quickly as it came with the silence that followed. "Um... is there something you wanted to... talk about?" she asked nervously and played with her fingers as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. He couldn't hold himself with his gaze anymore than then because he got distracted by even the slightest movement she made. Only just did he manage to shake himself awake and back to reality when he realised that she had said something. "Hiccup?"

He heard his name, and chuckled quietly. "Uh yeah... I just... I was, um, just wondering how you were holding up."

She nodded, "I'm fine. Just getting use to being hated, that's all." And she turned her head away from him with a slight tint of blush in her cheeks form embarrassment, sighing gently.

Hiccup's eyes widened slightly. _'She thinks I hate her?' _he asked himself, and then he thought back to how he practically ignored her, refusing to acknowledge her and all the thoughts he had with himself beforehand. And a flashback of those thoughts came to life.

**_"I can't believe it. Everything... Sheena was made up, nothing but a lie. A fake identity for the sake of survival. I was used, and after everything I gave her, I appreciated her, I cared for her, and she just had me thrown into a cage like a piece of trash. What was her problem? What did I ever do to her? Leila... I hate that name... Where did Sheena go, or did she not exist?"_**

_'Oh my gods...' _he thought once again. _'I did hate her... How could I have been so awful? Did I truly hate her?' _"Leila, I don't hate you if that's what you're saying."

"Huh?" she was confused. "But why not? I lied to your face about who I was, if it wasn't for me, you wouldn't have been locked in a cage and taken away from home."

**_ Leila had her sword in her grip. "Let them go, Finn."_**

**_Finn looked on with wide eyes before he took out his own sword and spun it in hand. He laughed venomously, "I see that you've decided to take a new look."_**

**_Hiccup looked on with confusion. "Sheena, what's going on?"_**

**_"So you decided to change your name again, huh?" Finn tried once more before he shrugged. "You still do not look like a Cara."_**

**_Leila squinted her eyes in annoyance. "What do you expect after centuries of running away from people like you?"_**

**_"I expected you to be a tad kinder... Leila..."_**

**_"What?!" the other Vikings all chanted in a whisper in their own timing. But Hiccup was the worst. He didn't know what to do, or say. He didn't know what to believe, he didn't know what was the truth and what was a lie. He had to know. "Sheena..." he said, and Leila turned to him with sadness. "Who are you?"_**

**_She sighed and bowed her head. "I am Princess Leila, and as far as I know... the last of the Mehraeia."_**

"I know." said Hiccup. "But you had perfectly good reason. I know I wasn't the nicest or fairest to you when we figured out that you lied. Not for your safety, but for everyone's even though we wish you told us the truth." Leila was still not completely comforted by what he said. He noticed this, and he sighed deeply before he knelt to eye level with her, grasped both of her hands in his own. "But I'm here now."

"Why?" was her only question, better yet her only word that she could release with a single breath. And Hiccup's gaze stayed locked with hers.

"There is so much more to you than half-dragon or being a princess with a dragon king who wants to kill us. Heck, if it were me I'd probably scream 'til I lost my leg."

"You have a prosthetic!"

"Exactly my point!" he replied, and it brought a gentle smile to her face, in turn it made him smile too. "As I was saying, Leila. There is so much more to you than just this and chaos. You're so much better."

And his thoughts returned to the many moments he shared with her. The moments that plagued his heart...

...

**_"Hey, can I ask you something?" he asked. Leila nodded. "How did you get your armour? I mean, who made it for you?"_**

**_"I actually made it myself. I used to work as a blacksmith. It's not that hard really, but people used to tell me that girls couldn't do metal work which is obviously a load of dung so I decided to prove them wrong. And, well, here I am. My armour and my weapons." She pulled out one of her twin daggers for him to hold._**

**_The moment he took the dagger in hand, he admired the detail. "Whoa!" It was victorious. The wooden handle was curved which made it easier for the holder to wrap their hand around it with a strong grip, the blade was incredibly sharp and the surface was incredibly smooth, his reflection was in a perfect mirror. The design on the blade was delicate and graceful like a wave in the wind. How Sheena could have done something this detailed, he didn't know. "That's amazing." he said. "How long have you been a Blacksmith before you left?" he gently handed the dagger back to her._**

**_"I have always been a Blacksmith. I kind of do metal-work an awful lot. If you want, sometime, I could teach you about how to make the weaponry fit for the owner rather than jut make weapons in general. To be a TRUE Blacksmith, you have to make your own adjustments for every single weapon, an extended arm fit for each individual, a weakness that could be a used as a strength no matter how advantageous the size of the opponent. Every weapon has its secrets beneath the design, beneath the purpose. You never know what the secret can be unless you exit the comfort zone and cross the border that leads to the revealing of a true warrior. It's the same for defensive weaponry too."_**

**_"Really?" She nodded. "How do you know all of that? How old are you?"_**

**_"I'm... seventeen."_**

**_"And you travelled?" She nodded. "Whoa..." he whispered, "You're one special girl."_**

...

**_"I was wondering if you would, um... If you would like to come with me and Toothless for a little bit of flying. I know you prefer the ground or something like that, but... I just wanted to offer you a chance to, maybe, see the skies again?" He seemed very nervous and his palms were fidgeting like they were sweaty and there was a barely noticeable blush that crept to his cheeks. Leila looked to Toothless for help, who just shrugged with a hint of amusement in his apparent innocence of the situation._**

**_After looking back and forth between Hiccup and Toothless, she looked to Hiccup once more with a sincere smile. "I would love to."_**

**_..._**

Leila's eyes were wide with surprise, the silence in between them like an unwanted bliss. It was an ignorance that couldn't be ignored if that made any sense, but she couldn't deny it. She wanted to be closer to him in that moment, closer than ever before. "Hiccup..." she whispered, and it felt like a familiar memory.

"Yes..."

"Hiccup..."

"Leila..." Hiccup's face inched closer to hers at a incredibly slow pace. He cupped her check in his hand and inched even closer, it felt so right, so perfect this time. Just a bit closer... she would finally taste his lips. After many long moments of silence, she was drowned in some kind of ecstasy. Their first kiss... Her eyes fluttered closed and she gave a small whine of pleasure as shivers flew over her skin. Just as she expected, she tasted the scent of the sweet grass by the ocean, smelt the salty air on his skin and felt the warmth of his breath. One more move, any closer... Just a little closer... Their kiss grew intense at a slow and steady pace. "Leila..." he said huskily as he moved to kiss her neck, and a small whine escaped her throat once more. She ran her hands through his locks and sighed with pleasure. "So beautiful..." he breathed against her neck and placed gentle wet kisses along her shoulder and neck, inching closer to her. Gently, he placed her against the soft grass beneath them and a heat rose between them. "Oh, Leila..."

She moaned quietly, biting her lip harshly but Hiccup wouldn't have that. He kissed her once more but with a passion renewed to a whole new level, and he ground against her with a ghostly motion which caused her to gasp and hold him in a tighter grip. "Oh, Hiccup..." she moaned as he returned to kissing her skin. "Hiccup, please..."

He pulled away to remove his armour and padding, leaving him shirtless entirely. Leila saw a completely new side of him just then. A new side where Hiccup was indeed to most beautiful creature on the face of the earth. She grazed her fingers over his lean torso like a feather dancing on the wind, light strokes that made his eyes flutter closed and lean his head back, sighing. "Leila..." he said her name in a whisper before he dove forward to kiss her again, holding her closer than ever before. Teeth scraping, harsh and rapid breaths along with the constant grinding movement of two heated bodies, it was finally just them...

Then he knew... He finally figured out with the final result that he fell in love with her.

Leila clawed at his back, leaving faint red lines as she went and her harsh whisper-like breaths turned into very quiet moans, begging of touches as Hiccup continued with the occasional nip against her skin, faint bite marks of passion and pleasure. "Hiccup..."

Gently, with feather-light touches, he removed her own armour as well as her clothing, leaving her bare with skin from her shoulders to her lower abdomen. At the sight of her, his eyes widened with wonder and he licked his dry lips as his chest rose and fell rapidly to match his breathing. "Oh Leila..." he whispered again and dove to latch his lips onto an erect nipple. At the sensation, Leila arched her back and gasped with a silent, voiceless cry of pleasure. She dove into his hair with her fingers and ground against him. She felt warm, numb and so many other wonderful things at the same time. It was far too good to stop. She knew what this was... it was a step taken only by choice, and to Ordenfour with spikes if she was going to pass it up!

She removed even more of his clothing, his leggings and his prosthetic with a delicate motion that only an angel could have mastered. Hiccup groaned huskily as he moved on the her other nipple with a ghostly movement. It made Leila whine slightly louder but she managed to mask it by biting her lip once again to prevent any other from hearing. She wanted this to be only theirs, their moment together, their memory. She wanted to be one with him.

Soon enough, both were completely naked and skin was slick with sweat as their kisses remained passionate and the grinding of bodies against each other brought them to new heights. "Oh, Hiccup!"

"Leila!"

Leila felt something rush between her legs in her special area, the curtains of the door that travelled to a new place only one could discover with her. Her opening was slick and sweet. Hiccup noticed that every time he accidentally grazed his fingers against her sweet lips, she moaned and arched her back, begging for more. He willingly obliged but not in the way she expected. Instead of his fingers, she felt something moist weave through her curtains and brought a new wave of pleasure to dive throughout her body. Hiccup's tongue lapped at her clitoris, and he moaned at the taste of sweet silken honey. He never did this before, but it felt so amazingly perfect and right so he continued knowing it made her feel good. His erection was red and aching, having not yet been touched. Leila knew that this was something only they could share with each other and no one else.

As he pulled away and kissed her lips once again, she hesitantly grasped his prize and moved her hand up and down in a slow motion. Hiccup's eyes immediately widened and he thrust into her hand, begging for more friction. "Oh, Leila! More... please, more! Ugh..." he groaned and bit his own lips. She realised that what she was doing was the right thing, and she decided to go slightly faster, gradually increasing her speed. "Oh, yes... Oh gods..." his breathing was heavier and more rapid than ever before, and her wet folds slickened even further. When he managed to open his eyes, he placed his hand at her entrance while balanced on his other arm so as not to squash her and placed his index finger inside her. The new sensation felt strange to Leila but it felt so wonderful at the same time.

"Oh, Hiccup! More! Oh gods..."

What was originally meant to be a social chat, an agreement to forgive, turned into something else entirely. It was not what Hiccup or Leila expected, but they both continued without a care in the world.

Hiccup had three fingers inside her, thrusting with the speed of a mad hare in season and it had her in a quivering state of mind, a state where sweat dripped on every inch of her and she was open and wet, and so damn warm. He wasn't much better either with the way she grasped his erection and stroked him with an incredible pace. But it was not enough. Not for either them, they wanted so much more. They wanted to join as one.

"Hiccup! Please... take me!" was all she could say through her blindness in the pleasure she received, but she still wanted so much more. The moment she said those words, Hiccup back up and stared for a few moments with question, asking if she was sure. She gazed back with dead seriousness and practically pressed him against her to prove her answer. "I want you... I need you..."

And Hiccup knew that the decision was made. This very evening, they were to become one forever. Her legs spread open as he pressed his hard and aching erection against her warm folds. With a slight hesitance but the urge covering it up much more, he slowly pressed inside her. They both inhaled huge breaths as he entered her, giving him her virtue that she kept for over four hundred years... She didn't care though, it felt incredible.

"Oh my gods..." he whispered and practically collapsed against her. "Shall I...?" he asked as he looked into her eyes, tucking a strand of moist hair behind her ear.

She nodded and her head fell back against the soft grass. "Move..."

The deed was done. The rhythm was settled at the pace that left them entirely breathless, friction demanded greatly and every move rose the pleasure even higher. But all together did not even compare to the one particular thrust that made her arch her back even further to the point of breaking it. "Oh my gods! Do that again!" Leila cried in a whisper. Knowing that he did something made him smile wickedly.

He tested his theory when he thrust inside her at a particular angle. His hypothesis was correct as she quivered beneath and tightened around him, making him ache even further with pleasure. "You like that?" he asked in a flirtatious tone, and she nodded rapidly.

"Oh gods, yes!" she whispered huskily. "More..."

And as they made silent passionate love, a new feeling rose inside the pair of them. They realised that the ultimate feeling was going to rise from inside the both of them, the final moment was coming closer. "Hiccup, I'm close..."

"Oh, Leila! So am I!"

Just a few more moments... almost there... oh gods...

"Oooohhhhh!"

"Uhnnnn!"

Their climax was reached.

Their movement slowed, and they collapsed into each other. they stayed that way for the rest of the night, no words needed to be said because they knew how the other felt.

They felt wonderful.


	25. Chapter 25

_Laughter rang through the cove not far from Berk as a small child was thrown into the air by her father. "Higher, Papa!" she cried. "Higher!"_

_"Darling, don't you dare throw her any higher, she'll end up thinking she's flying!" said her mother as she caressed her bump while she sat by the lake._

_"I won't!" the father laughed at the pout he received from the little girl. "Now, Sheena! We don't want your mother to be upset, do we?"_

_The little girl, Sheena, laughed and shook her head. "No, Papa!"_

_The mother laughed and got up with the help of Toothless who sat by her. "I think it's time for dinner, Hiccup. Don't you?"_

_Hiccup, with his clean-shaven smile, walked over to his beloved wife and kissed her cheek while he held their daughter. "I agree, Leila."_

Hiccup woke with a start, eyes wide and alert. He found himself in a rather familiar area. He looked down to find Leila, bare skin with only the odd item of clothing as a blanket, wrapped in his arms. His hands were in her hair and his prosthetic was laid on the nearest rock to their left. He looked down at Leila to find her fast asleep.

And then he remembered his dream... Was he going to be a father?


	26. Chapter 26

"We need to hurry to the closest village." said Stoick. "It's the only chance we have of joining forces to defeat the Dragon King."

"But we'll never reach the Northern border in time, sir!" said Fishlegs. "Can't we just fly there? It would save a lot of time."

Snotlout piped in. "Yeah! Let me and Hookfang take down the Dragon King. We'll show them who's boss!"

Valka, who stood by Stoick, shook her head in disagreement. "No, son. If we and our dragons are discovered flying in the air, surely some spies of Kael's would see us in the open. We cannot risk it, not this soon. We need a better idea than that."

"She's right, guys!" exclaimed Astrid. "We'll only open ourselves to more danger. There's got to be a better way to get to the village of Rile before sunset tomorrow. Otherwise, boom! Here comes the Dragon King flaming our butts off!"

"But what's the point in having our dragons if we can't fly?" asked Ruffnut.

"Yeah!" responded Tuffnut. "If they try to take us down! We'll take them down first!"

"No, laddie!" said Gobber. "You'll lose it before you try it."

* * *

Leila gently opened her eyes to the sudden daylight and winced at the brightness to result in covering her eyes with some type of blanket. What she didn't realise, even though she just woke up but still no excuse, was that Hiccup was still stroking her hair and he laid a gentle kiss on her crown. It took her a few moments, however, to notice that they were both entirely clotheless and wrapped up in each other. In a rushed manner, she bolted upright and Hiccup jumped slightly at the sudden movement and chuckled gently. "Good morning, m'lady!"

Leila turned to him with a shock expression that registered with the question 'Did we really?' all over. In a worldess reply to a wordless question, he nodded. "We actually did it..." she whispered after a few moments of silence. Hiccup nodded again, and he sat upright and eye-level with her.

"Do you regret it?" he asked, hoping that the answe was not the one he dreaded.

Eyes widening further, she shook her head rapidly. "No, I could never regret what happened last night!" she exclaimed, and Hiccup smiled a little at the thought of what happened. He never felt so free, not even while flying Toothless, well, he did but when he was with Leila he felt so much more freedom than he could have possibly imagined.

To ease her poosible worry about him 'regretting the event', he leant forward and kissed her gently. "Good, because I don't either."

Satisfied, they both got dressed with sneaked kisses in between the placement of an item of clothing over their skin. It took a while considering how often they kissed but they didn't care because they thought it didn't matter to them. Nothing did other than that they were finally together.

_'Is this what it's like to be accepted as me?'_ Leila asked herself as they both held hands. _'If it is, then I guess I'm finally free... but not from my curse.'_ finished getting dressed and walked to where the others were having their discussion.

"Guys, seriously! We still need a good plan!"

"A plan for what?" asked Leila, who's response being the rest of the Vikings turning to face her and Hiccup, still holding hands. They stared for a few moments, and both Hiccup and she were slightly confused as to why.

"What? What are you guys staring at?" asked Hiccup. Snotlout had a cocky smirk and motioned to their hands. They held up the hands that remained entangled with each other for all eyes to see and several gasps could be heard along with the sight of a few smiles. "Oh." he muttered.

"Is it true, Hiccup?" asked Stoick as he stood closer in front of Leila and his son. "Are you...?"

Hiccup nodded. "Yeah, Dad. Leila and I are officially together. Please don't go all ranty and judgy on me and expect me to change my mind, because I won't. I'm happy, Dad."

"Sir," interrupted Leila. "I know I have done you all the biggest wrong in history, and I know that you may not likely forgive me. But I care about your son very much. Hiccup means practically everything to me. And if you give me one last chance, I may be able to change your mind. But please..." she said. "Please don't take me away from Hiccup."

Stoick remained quiet as his eyes squinted in her direction, looking down on her and Leila thought that he had already decided even though it wasn't voiced.

But did she, even though it's unlikely, possibly change his mind?


	27. Chapter 27

"I can't believe this!" Kael screamed, pacing back and forth. "Does she realise what she has done?!" he threw his arm against the wall and cracks formed like a web made from a spider. "The damned child!" Yes, he knew of her newly-formed bond with Hiccup. And that was his worst fear yet to have come true. It meant that Mehraeia bloodline would continue, and he would fail. If Leila's strength was passed on then he would have to fear not only her wrath, but the first-born. He fought continously with his inner thoughts about the situation in mind, and whether or not his plan would succeed he did not know.

_She will die before it is born._

"No, she cannot have the child. She would kill me before I could even have a chance!"

_That's why she must be stopped!_

Well, his plan was worth a try.

* * *

"So," said Stoick. "You wish to be with my son." Leila nodded and looked down with a sadness to avoid eye contact in fear of being denied. "You realise that, for all of the disaster that fell on the island of Berk you have created under my rule, I have the decision to either banish you across the seas in forever isolation or sentence you with life-time service to the Chief. Your decision to reveal yourself as well as deceive us with lies has almost cost me my village, my son, my wife and many of my fellow Vikings whom I've known for all these many short years." Leila flinched under the venomous speech. "And now, even though your mistake was forgiven in time but not a choice made lightly, you wish to be joined in bond with Hiccup. And what's more, you defy your father's wishes and wish to seek war against him along with all of us..."

Leila dreaded what he would say next and closed her eyes tightly, her shoulders tensing up and her fists clecnhed gently. But all she felt was a gentle touch, tilting her chin upwards to meet Stoick's gaze. Her eyes widened when she realised that he was smiling with a small tear in his eye. "What are you saying?" she asked in a breath-like whisper.

He gave a gentle chuckle and shook his head. "I would be proud to have you as my daughter-in-law... Princess Leila."

Gobber almost dropped his hammer-hand on his foot when he heard what Stoick had said. He couldn't believe his ears. In fact, no one could. Astrid, Ruffnut and Valka were quietly squealing in joy. Tuffnut, Snotlout and Fishlegs were cheering on Hiccup for getting the girl. And Hiccup and Leila were the only ones who remained silent.

"Dad," said Hiccup with a little squeak in his voice. He coughed to prevent sounding stupid. "Um... are you sure about this?" Stoick nodded. "You do realise that means, if we are getting married that is, that we need to have a ceremony as well as our own house and all that once this is over, right?"

Stoick boomed in laughter. "Of course, son! I already had it prepared for you!"

"What?!" Leila and Hiccup asked in unison. "How?!"

Stoick laughed even louder at their expressions; mouths dropped, eyes wide and arms dangling at the sides as a sign to show that they were about to faint from shock. The sight was rather amusing. "I had the place built in the cove where Toothless and Hiccup would always go in their spare time. It used to be the old barn belonging to Mildew before he left us but I had that taken down and moved into the cove during your stay in Berk, Leila. At the time, I thought you would have stayed longer than you planned so just in case, I had the little house made from the old barn built inside the little cave just on the oppisite of the entrance to the cove."

"How did you know I would stayed longer?" asked Leila. "I could only stayed for a week at most."

"Ah, but you stayed longer than that. You stayed for at least a fortnight before the disaster."

"Wow... I..." she stopped in her steps. "I don't know what to say other than thank you." and she smiled that beautiful smile that made Hiccup melt inside his heart.

* * *

Meanwhile, Kael watched the whole scene through an image he had conjured. Let us say that he nearly sent the hwhole throne room nearly crashing within itself. He slashed the sphere that revealed Leila to him and screamed in anger, punching the wealls and screaming his hate.

"SHE WON'T SURVIVE! I WON'T ALLOW IT!"


	28. Chapter 28

**_Hi, I'm so sorry I didn't update for over a month or so, I've been really busy and other than through my brother; I had no access to a computer and even then I rarely had the chance but now I'm ready to get back to writing. Love you guys MWAH! lots of kisses - Chloe xxxxxxxxxxxxx_**

* * *

For the next two days they travelled north to the nearest village, the Jungle Gibers. The Lady-Chief, under the name of Velva, so happened to be of magic blood and so the fact that she knew they were arriving and with their Dragons was an understatement. She knew every secret, every move of every living and dying thing. Not only that, but she knew the Mehraeia secret. No, Leila didn't tell her but she knew either way and Velva kept it safe for her when she stayed all those fifteen years ago.

When they arrived on the backs of their Dragons into the village, no flying of course, she was more than excited to see them and welcome them in open arms.

"My dear Cara!" said Velva. "You haven't aged a day, if anything you look more beautiful than before you left."

Leila laughed and nodded. "Thank you, Velva. It's been too long."

Velva nodded in agreement. "Indeed it has. And I see that your youth has not changed one bit either."

Leila shook her head. "No. In fact..." she leant in to her ear to whisper, "If there is anything that has changed entirely, it's my current interest." To prove her point, she decided to link arms with Hiccup who came and stood by her. "Velva, I'd like you to meet-"

"Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III. Son of Stoick the Vast and Valka the Dragon Tamer." said Velva. She laughed at their expressions. "And you also ride the young Night Fury by the name of Toothless but by birth name known as Farathurme; son of Dailun and Eali. Befriended young Hiccup six years ago "

"How did you know?" asked Leila.

"Are you a witch or something?" asked Hiccup.

Velva nodded. "Aye, but it's been a long time since I have performed any special tricks. I've done the minor specialties here and there but never for entertainment or any serious purpose."

"Why didn't you tell me when I was here fifteen years ago?" asked Leila.

Velva laughed gently. "I know everything... Come!"

Later on that day, beds were made and everyone was settled. Bowls of hot soup, cooked fish and chicken were the main feast as the village was not very occupied in the habits of hunting but rather raising the animals or cooking. Leila loved it here because of the simplicity and the gentleness of the people, and she had yet to explain some of her adventures with Hiccup. Even Toothless was excited, he kept begging Leila for some of the fish eyes._ 'Pleaaaaasseeeeee! I promise I won't bother you anymore.'_ he would whine here and there. And she had too much of a heart to say no.

"Now, my dear." said Velva. "Why do you seek the death of the Dragon King?"

Hiccup just sat next to his other half and listened intently. "It is time to finally end his reign." said Leila. "I wish to stop the war and bring peace back into the world, even in Ordenfour where he remains. I know that you know how he can be destroyed and I need to know how. I wish not to do it alone as I have my love beside me," she held his hand and he smiled at become called her love, "and everyone who has joined me on this quest. We all want the same thing; Kael dead."

Velva nodded and sighed sadly. "Yes, Kael needs to be ended along with his ruin... But also, how did you come by the Dragon Trainer?"

Hiccup's eyes looked to her for a moment in surprise and smiled with nervousness. "It's actually not that easy to ex-"

Leila interrupted him. "We met in a cove on Berk; we fought, I told him my cover name, we started liking each other and then I got found out, everyone started avoiding me for not telling the truth then Hiccup and I got talking and now we're together and going to destroy Kael. Basically it, really." She looked at Hiccup apologetically but he just smiled and kiss her cheek, making her blush and giggle.

"Couldn't have put it any better myself. Thank you." he replied.

Velva watched the silent gaze shared between them, and she definitely saw the spark. A true Love unlike any other. But something else too; some sort fate. Then, she realised it... "Come with me." she told them, and they followed her; curiosity immediately peaked. They were then lead into some sort of dark cave; secluded, plenty of privacy, and it wasn't too far from the main hall. "Tell me, you know of the prophecy, no?"

Leila and Hiccup turned to each other with confusion; mislead by what she could've possibly meant. "What prophecy?"

Velva chuckled; "The prophecy of the Dragon Sanctuary, of course... Allow me to recite it to you." With a few waves of her hand and a flick of the wrist as well as a snap of her fingers, blue mist clouded the air. True, she didn't do much magic but she still had a few tricks left up her sleeve. Two white figures painted the walls of the fog... Human and Dragon.

_"It is written that the Mehraeian Bloodline shall not continue the Reign of Kael but end it truly... Side by side, the first ever Dragon Trainer and Mehraeia shall come together and conquer the world of ruin and Kael will fall..."_

"Okay, we've got that part but where do I fit in with Leila as the Dragon Trainer? I couldn't possibly be the first." said Hiccup.

Leila shook her head. "See, that's where people can easily go wrong - no Dragon needed training while I could easily transform because I knew how they behaved and how to use that to their strengths. When my ability was taken away so I could only be immortal in Human form, so was the link between our two species as they discovered I could be of no use to them without my power no matter if the war ended or not. And that's where I always get confused; why the war continued when I seemed to become only a myth and what became the new reason. But then when I first came to Berk, in that wood, I saw my favourite Dragon above all else which happened to be Toothless as he was the only Night fury I saw on the island. And then I met you - I saw that you trained him and instinctively the two of you became special to me."

Velva nodded and chuckled. "That's because the prophecy rang true." She waved her hand and the glowing shaped Leila and Hiccup around their hearts before cascading into the centre of the blue shield. "My dear Hiccup - You and Leila were destined to destroy Kael and stop the conquer of both our worlds... But if one of you should falter..." The smoke changed into blood as both forms dissolved with silent screams. "Then we shall fall into the hands of darkness."

Leila realised what she said, but she knew behind all of it what would most likely happen. She was far too scared of that chance and so she never wanted to risk it. Not in a million years would she allow it but it still rang inside her heart. She knew the chance.

The chance that Hiccup would die.


	29. Chapter 29

Hiccup was with the guys that evening, Leila insisted so because it would get him to relax about the prophecy a bit more. Mainly, he was with Stoick, Gobber, Tuffnut, Fishlegs and Snotlout; drinking mead to relieve themselves of the stress. "I'm telling you, Stoick. You're gonna be a grandpappy before the year is out!"

When Hiccup heard this, he instinctively spat and coughed into his mead. "Wha-?" Cough. "What do you mean, Gobber?"

"Oh, come on son!" said Stoick. "It's blatantly obvious!"

"Yeah, I may not be the smartest blond of the group; but I know a daddy-to-be when I see one!" said Tuffnut.

"It's actually not that difficult to notice considering changes, but if she IS pregnant and Hiccup is going to be a dad, she needs to be careful if there is going to be a raging war with Kael." said Fishlegs. "She could risk the baby as we speak."

"Yeah! But, obviously, we're gonna be the ones to protect her." said Snotlout.

"Woah, hold on! Wait just a minute!" cried Hiccup. "When did we just start talking about me being a dad? I'm not married yet, we still have Kael to get rid of! We have a lot of things to cover before we started sorting personal events in place. Plans; later. War to get rid of; now."

Stoick nodded. "Aye, we know son. But you have to look in front of you and see the obvious!"

"What do you mean dad?" asked Hiccup. "I don't understand."

"Oh, come on Hiccup!" cried Snotlout. "You knocked up your girlfriend!"

Instantly, his eyes widened. "I WHAT?!" Stoick and Gobber turned to each other with knowing looks. "Dad? Do you really think I...?"

Stoick laughed and warmly placed a hand on his shoulder. "I know a father-to-be when I see one..."

"OH my gods..." whispered Hiccup. "I'm gonna be a dad..."

* * *

Leila paced back and forth that night. Alone in the room she shared with Hiccup, she feared all the things that could lead to Hiccup's death.

_He could be flattened or murdered brutally..._

_He could be stabbed and bled to death..._

_He could fall from the sky and I wouldn't be able to catch him..._

All awful thoughts could be practically uttered from her lips they bothered her so much. She didn't know what to do, it's not like she could protect him. Too lost in her own fear, she didn't hear Astrid and Valka coming through the door. "Leila?" questioned Astrid, barely placing her hand on said woman's shoulder. "Leila, if you're scared for Hiccup - don't worry, you have the best Vikings."

"I'm fine." said Leila. "I'm just thinking." Out of nowhere, she suddenly felt an ache in her stomach and something rising in her throat. Grabbing her lower abdomen, she instantly fled from where she stood to the outside window, and half of the food she had eaten earlier just came past her lips.

"Sweetheart?" questioned Valka. "What's wrong, Leila?"

Leila sighed and swallowed in disgust. "I don't know. To be honest, I've been feeling a bit strange for the last few hours."

"Have you told Hiccup?" asked Astrid. "You know how helpful he can be."

Leila shook her head. "No, I didn't want him to worry. It's just a little something like a bug or whatever. It'll pass."

"Are you sure? You might not be sick!" said Valka. "Have you and Hiccup ever physically 'bonded'? Like... making love...?"

Silence for a few moments, but then she nodded. "Yes, the first night we were together... Why?" Valka instantly made her sit down, brushing her hair away from her face and dabbing it in cold water form a bucket. Astrid made her lie back on the bed. "What is it?" She gave a little squeak of surprise when Valka immediately poked and prodded her stomach. "What is it?"

"By the Gods..."

"What is it?" asked Astrid.

"Leila... you're pregnant..."

"I'm WHAT?!" screamed Leila. "But... but... How...? ... I..." she literally couldn't get the words out of her mouth. Ruffnut obviously laughed.

"DUH!" said Astrid.

Ruffnut stood from her seat. "You made the hokey with the pokey!"

"You've bonded with Hiccup, sweetheart." said Valka, who smiled and, surprisingly, embraced Leila warmly in her arms. This was a surprise to her because Valka never usually gave hugs unless it was to Stoick or Hiccup and the others, but Leila? That was certainly new. "And in fact, I would be honoured if you and Hiccup had this child."

Tears slowly welled up in her eyes, not sadness but joy. "Really?"

She felt a nod next to her. "Yes... and I would love this child as much as I loved my family, and you are a part of it now."

"But I don't know anything about raising a child!" Leila exclaimed. "All I've known for the last four hundred years was to run and hide from Kael. Yes, I've always wanted a child, but..." she sighed and squinted her eyes closed, looking down as if she were in shame. "I never... I never thought I would actually..."

"Oh, Leila!" laughed Valka, holding her closer. "I know that you would make a wonderful mother. You have the soul and heart of a leader, fighter and a Dragon. Just like Hiccup." She dipped her finger under her chin to meet her gaze. "Don't fret, child. I will be here right beside you."

* * *

Meanwhile, Hiccup left the gang as Toothless decided to come and see him. "Do you think I can do it, Toothless?" Toothless looked at him as if to ask 'what do you mean?' "About me being... being a dad. Think I can do it?"

Toothless smiled innocently as if to say, 'yeah, I know you can!'

Hiccup smiled back, stroking him under his chin. "I take it you'll make sure I do a good job?" Another nudge. Hiccup's soft laugh surrounded them. "You always know how to make me feel better, bud." With Toothless' head in his lap and purring, he looked up to the stars that welcomed the night's embrace above them. He had no way of explaining how he could be a father to a child, he was rebellious so would the child be rebellious to him? He was stubborn so would the baby be stubborn too? All these little things flew inside his mind in a luminous spiral. Potential future memories he knew he could have. First steps, first word, first teeth and first birthday; everything with a first he thought of. In the end, after many silences... this was by far the best. He then thought about it even more, and then he thought about Leila... _'she would be a great mom...'_

With a smile, he made his decision. "Hey bud." he mumbled. "Feel like going for a quick spin before we head back?" Toothless nudged him in a look that told him he was an idiot for not saying so earlier. He chuckled softly. "Alright bud, let's go!" Immediately taking off to the skies, the wind chased behind them like no tomorrow. For them, they felt free again. Like forever had passed by, even though it was only a week or so but it still felt electrifying to know what it felt like again.

It was so spectacular. But nothing more than what he was going to have in the very near future. He scanned the little fields of flowers, looking for a specific one to pick. His eyes widened with his smile when he found it. "Toothless, get that flower!" With a roar, Toothless made his dive for Hiccup to grab the handful of the lilies with yellows stumps of pollen in the middle, curled in full bloom and glistening with the white petals of innocence.

"I'm gonna tell her, bud!" Toothless grumbled in confusion. "I'm gonna tell her how much I love her! And how much I wanna be a dad!"


	30. Chapter 30

"Oh Gods! How am I gonna tell him?!" Leila asked herself when she crawled into bed that night, wrapped in the warm layers of fur and the soft and welcoming mattress. "He has to know!" she sighed. "It's not like he is a bigfoot monster or something!" She closed her eyes, blinking a few times in the process, and tried to shut out her drama oh so effortful. Sadly, it didn't work that way, nor did life. No one could shut out the problems, only face them and then let them go to leave behind the solution. "What am I going to do?"

Toothless saw this when he and Hiccup landed near the window. He knew his princess was upset about something, and he didn't want his higher entity to be in such a manner. He thought to himself, _'Well, Leila sure seems heeped up about something... I think I better go talk to her...'_ he made the move to do so, but Hiccup stopped him. Toothless' eyes widened at the motion, more out of shock than anger or denial.

"No, bud. Sorry, but Leila and I have to talk on our own about this." Holding the flowers, Hiccup exhaled relaxingly before opening the door. "... Leila?" he said hesitantly. Leila replied immediately with a small nod, meeting Hiccup and... flowers? Stepping inside and closing the door, Hiccup held the spring-seasoned-like bouquet to her. "I brought these for you... Leila, I know what happened." Leila's eyes widened before taking the flowers, nodding for him to continue.

"Yes, Hiccup?" she said quietly, her voice so soft and delicate.

"Leila..." he sighed. "I know about the baby." Leila stepped back, about to go teary. His eyes widened in realisation and he shook his head rapidly. "No, no, no! I'm not saying it's a bad thing." Grabbing her hand, they both sat on the bed. "In fact, I'm saying it's the total opposite." She went to open her mouth but he stopped her almost instantly. "Hear me out, please." Leila nodded, lips together and ears eager to listen. "Look... I know it's so soon, and I know we're not married but... we can't change what happened between us, and I know we have this Evil morphing-Dragon-killing-Kael-War thing going on, but... this is the best thing that ever happened to me." With a brief pause, he placed his hand softly on her cheek, making sure that their gazes met, green to blue. "I want this baby, Leila... I know I'm not the most reliable person to be picked as a Dad what with going to be Chief and all, and not knowing how to take care of kids at all really but...I really want this baby, I want this baby with you."

"... You're not mad?" A single tear cascaded down her cheek, no smile or frown.

Hiccup immediately swept the tear away, shaking his head with a smile. "Why would I be mad?" He moved his hand to her abdomen... where their child was growing inside. "I'm ecstatic." And he moulded his lips against hers passionately; "I love you..."

Leila gasped, silent before smiling and returning the kiss. "I love you too."

Toothless just sat there, watching them with curiosity; not quite registering what was happening between them. He knew that the newly recruited smiles meant that something must have come out as a good thing... It's a shame he didn't quite know or understand what the reason was...

* * *

Kael growled as he saw the sight inside his magical sphere, black oozy smoke dripping from his nostrils and black pupils practically invisible with blind rage. "NO!" he screamed and sent a bolt of fire and lightning into the wall furthest away, shattering blots of cooling lava and plasma into the cracked corners. "I will not let that bastard child survive!"

As his anger built into mountainous rage, black clouds of shadows, smoke, bloodlike liquid and thunder clashed in a hurricane above the tallest tower of Ordenfour.

* * *

Valka awoke from her sleep at the distant roaring, gasping and shaking Stoick from his slumber, and Gobber, and all the others. "What is it? What's wrong? What's happening?" they all asked harmonically.

"Wake up! All of you!" she cried. "We have to get out of here! He knows!"

"What? Who knows?" said Stoick. "Who, Val...?"

"Kael! Kael knows about the baby!"

At the exact same moment, Hiccup and Leila walk inside the room, holding hands with gracious and glorious smiles. "Hey, Mum. What's going on?!"

Valka turned to face them with an expression full of fear and doubt. "Look outside the window." Needless to say, not too far across the horizon, at the great castle of Ordenfour which looked like only a small house from a very far distance, there was a black spiral of smoke and cloud enveloping the tallest tower.

"Oh my gods..." whispered Astrid.

"What are we gonna do?" asked Snotlout. "We can't just wait around for him to get here!"

"No, but we will do something." said Leila.

Hiccup turned to her, curious as well as confused. "What do you mean...?"

Leila motioned for everyone to stand proud and face the storm. All in a line, turning their sides slightly, arms at the ready to attack though they knew they weren't ready...

And there were only two words needed to be heard that night; the two most important words of all time.

"We fight."


	31. Chapter 31

To be continued...


End file.
